Punjab cabinet nod for life term proposal in sacrilege cases

In the face of growing number of incidents of sacrilege in the state, the Punjab cabinet on Thursday gave its approval to proposing amendments to the Indian Penal Code so as to prescribe life imprisonment for the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib.

"Taking cognizance of the recent incidents of desecration of Guru Granth Sahib, the cabinet gave the green signal to introduce a new amended section (295 AA) in the IPC, 1860, which would provide life imprisonment for offenders committing heinous acts of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib," a Punjab government spokesman said here on Thursday.

"This step would act as a deterrent to prevent recurrence of such unfortunate incidents in future," the spokesman said. It was however not clear if the proposal would be made to the central government.

"This amendment was all the more necessitated as the existing provisions did not provide deterrent punishment for such sacrilege," he said.

Desecration of the Sikh holy book led to violence and widespread protests in Punjab in September and October, putting the state government led by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on the backfoot.

Two people were killed and several others injured in violent clashes during protests against the sacrilege incidents. The protests brought Punjab to a standstill in October as radical Sikhs and others blocked highways and roads for days together.