The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Monday announced that it would convene a meeting of Sikh organisations on April 6 to build a unified panthic consensus in connection with the Punjab government’s plan to amend Jagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2008, for stricter punishment for sacrilege at a special assembly session on April 13.
The meeting is to be organised at the SGPC headquarters — Teja Singh Samundri Hall — at the Golden Temple complex, said SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami after a meeting of the executive committee.
Addressing a press conference, Dhami emphasised the need for a collective panthic opinion. “The state government is bringing a law. It should not meet the same fate as similar laws framed in 2016 and 2018,” he said.
“All religious scriptures are respectful for us, but Guru Sahib Granth Sahib is a living Guru so it should be treated in the same way in the proposed law. It should not be treated as other scriptures,” he said.
Regarding other states, he said the central government should introduce amendments in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) to introduce stringent punishment over sacrilege cases, including capital punishment, as such cases have failed to reach a conclusive end only because of “toothless” laws.
He invited scholars, judges and lawyers, representatives of Nihang groups, Damdami Taksal, Sikh institutions, Sikh Missionary Colleges, Singh Sabhas, heads of various sects, as well as representatives of Nirmala, Udasi, Sewapanthi traditions and Kar Sewa saints to participate in the meeting.
Dhami stated that the SGPC supports the enactment of stringent laws on sacrilege, but the “Punjab government has not clarified its position”. Dhami added that earlier the state government had formed a select committee regarding the Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Religious Scriptures Bill, 2025. The SGPC had repeatedly sought clarification, but no information was provided.
