Harsher punishment for sacrilege in Punjab

IT’s been a decade since Punjab was rocked by a series of sacrilege incidents. These disturbing cases, coupled with the death of two Sikhs in police firing during an anti-sacrilege protest in Faridkot’s Behbal Kalan village in October 2015, continue to reverberate in political circles of the state. Even as the trial in various cases drags on, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has announced that it will introduce a legislation to ensure harsher punishment for acts of sacrilege against scriptures. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has justified the need for a separate law on the grounds that the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) doesn’t have any specific provision regarding holy books. Section 298 of the BNS pertains to destruction, damage or defilement of any place of worship; the offence is punishable with imprisonment up to two years. This jail term is regarded as woefully inadequate for the grievous harm done to scriptures.

Sacrilege is an emotive issue for the state’s Sikh community, which has seen successive governments failing to deliver justice. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which was in power when the incidents happened, continues to face the Panth’s ire for its alleged mishandling of the situation. With the Assembly elections just over a year and a half away, AAP is looking to pacify Sikh voters. The task is onerous; it was only last year that the state government gave sanction to prosecute Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh after the Supreme Court lifted the stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on a trial against him.

The ruling party has its work cut out as one of its own MLAs, former IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, has been critical of the government’s approach towards the decade-old sacrilege and police firing cases. His suspension on the charge of indulging in anti-party activities will prompt him to up the ante against AAP. Enacting a stringent law must go hand in hand with fast-tracking of the trial in pending cases.

Editorials