Anti-sacrilege rules seek to protect faith, prevent misuse of law

Chandigarh: The Punjab govt is set to notify rules under the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2026, seeking to ensure strict punishment for deliberate acts of sacrilege while protecting granthis, sewadars and bona fide religious activities from harassment and wrongful prosecution.Besides, the anti-sacrilege, which was enacted on April 20 this year, envisages a legal mechanism to ensure that "governance does not intrude into the realm of faith". As per the proposed rules, the Guru Granth Sahib, which is considered a living guru by devotees, and parts thereof (angs) will not "ordinarily" be summoned, detained, or produced before any court or authority at any stage of trial of sacrilege cases, sources privy to the development told TOI.A govt functionary said documented evidence would be enough.The rules ensure that cases of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib will be dealt with strictly as per Sikh Rehat Maryada (Sikh religious code of conduct), including forensic handling, "agan bhet sewa" (consigning the damaged ‘saroops' or ‘angs' to flames), along with safeguards that provide for protection of innocent custodians from malicious attempts by unscrupulous elements committing sacrilege with a mental state of guilty mind (mens rea) and with a wilful and malicious intent to commit the crime.A govt functionary said the anti-sacrilege law was aimed at punishing the ‘Massa Ranghars', a reference to 18th-century Mughal official Massa Ranghar, who is infamous and a hate figure in Sikh history for the desecration of the Golden Temple. The official, not wishing to be named, said the Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act Rules 2026 were at a final stage and will be notified shortly.The rules also seek to protect custodians, granthis, pathis and sewadars from wrongful prosecution. Before any coercive action is taken against a custodian or sewadar, the superintendent of police (investigation) will be required to independently assess whether sufficient grounds exist. Panel for observance of Rehat MaryadaThe proposed rules provide for a five-member committee, to be constituted by the sub-divisional magistrate concerned in consultation with the investigating officer, for the purpose of observance of Rehat Maryada, including ‘agan bhet sewa', to aid and assist the investigating agency in conformity with provisions of relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).The composition of the committee in the proposed rules includes a member of the SGPC; president and ex-president of the local gurdwara management committee; and a member and ex-member of the local gurdwara management committee.Contentious clausesThe highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, the Akal Takht, and the top representative body of the Sikhs, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), are among the Sikh bodies opposed to some clauses. The two Sikh institutions allege that certain clauses in the law undermine Guru Granth Sahib, the Khalsa Panth and the sentiments of the Sikh community.The anti-sacrilege law mandates SGPC to maintain a central register tracking the printing, storage, distribution, and supply of saroops of Guru Granth Sahib in physical and electronic form. As per the proposed rules, the official said, the SGPC will be required to keep the data on its central registry and record-keeping system on its website in "encrypted form". The record will not be available in the public domain. The proposed rules stipulate that the SGPC will provide the records as requisitioned by the investigating agency. The SGPC, as per the proposed rules, would take measures to protect the privacy of individual custodians of Guru Granth Sahib's saroops. SGPC would be required to use a "unique identification number", encrypted through modern techniques, which shall be assigned and printed on each ‘saroop', or ‘ang', of the Guru Granth Sahib.The functionary said that the SGPC already had all the records and it was just a matter of uploading them in encrypted form. While the law stipulated that SGPC upload the records within 45 days of the commencement of the Act and update them monthly thereafter, the clause pertaining to encrypted form in the proposed rules would likely mean that the 45 days will be counted from the date of notification of the rules.The proposed rules outline in detail the procedure for forensics, investigation, scene-of-crime management and use of e-Sakshya procedures while ensuring respectful handling of the saroops and angs of Guru Granth Sahib. The proposed rules also spell out the investigation procedure in cases of digital sacrilege.According to the anti-sacrilege law, offences against Guru Granth Sahib carry a minimum of seven years of imprisonment, extending to 20 years, with a fine up to Rs 10 lakh.Sacrilege involving criminal conspiracy and an intention to disrupt peace or communal harmony carries a minimum of 10 years to life imprisonment, with fines up to Rs 25 lakh.