The Punjab Assembly here today unanimously passed bills proposing amendments to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to make desecration of religious texts punishable with life imprisonment.
The Assembly passed the Indian Penal Code (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2018, and The Code of Criminal Procedure (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2018, moved by the state PWD Minister Vijay Inder Singla.
Significantly, the Punjab Assembly in 2016, when the previous SAD-BJP government was in power, had passed the Indian Penal Code (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2016 and Code of Criminal Procedure (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2016.
The amendments at that time were approved to seek life imprisonment for desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib.
However, the Centre raised objection, saying the punishment of life imprisonment could not be limited to the desecration of holy book of just one religion and should instead be for all religions. Both the earlier bills now stand withdrawn
As per the provisions of the Bill, "...where any financial establishment defaults the return of deposit or defaults the payment of interest on the deposit or fails to return in any kind or fails to render service for which the deposit has been made, every person, including the promoter, partner, director, manager or any other person or any employee responsible for the management of or conducting the business or the affairs of such financial establishment, shall on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend up to ten years and fine which may extend up to Rs one lakh."
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