Jalandhar: In a major development that could add to religio-political friction just before assembly elections, the Akal Takht - the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs - on Friday (May 8) directed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government to remove clauses it has termed as “objectionable” from the recently-passed 'The Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act 2026' - a law that criminalises sacrilege - within 15 days.
The Akal Takht has warned that if the clauses are not removed, “strict action” would be taken in the matter. The development comes less than a year before the Punjab assembly election, which is due in early 2027.
Akal Takht head Kuldip Singh Gargajj's direction came in the wake of the recently enacted law, which was passed by the chief minister Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government during a special session of Punjab assembly on April 13, 2026, on Vaisakhi at Sri Anandpur Sahib. Within two days, it got Punjab governor Gulab Chand Kataria's assent, making it the first such law against sacrilege in Punjab.
However, reacting against the Akal Takht's directives, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann on Saturday (May 9) categorically denied any plan of withdrawing the law and said, "There will be no withdrawal of Sacrilege Act 2026 at any cost. The act has already been implemented after the approval and signature of the Punjab governor, and it will not be withdrawn."
Leading a scathing attack on the Badal family led by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, CM Mann said, "The Badal family have formed their own 'Badal Panth' and are using the Jathedar and the Sikh clergy for issuing such statements. But I want to reiterate that there will be no withdrawal of the sacrilege act at any cost".
Mann, who is currently holding a statewide 'Shukrana Yatra' (Thanksgiving procession) for enacting the law against sacrilege targeted the Badal family and said, "The entire sangat (community) has accepted the law; only one family is opposing it."
The Shukrana Yatra began from Sri Anandpur Sahib on May 6, where the 'Khalsa Panth was established by Sri Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru.
In one of his public speeches at Amritsar, CM Mann said, "While the entire Sikh sangat has welcomed the law, the controllers of the Shiromani Committee are opposing it because allegations related to sacrilege point towards them."
However, contrary to the Opposition’s claims, the CM has been reiterating that there was no political motive behind the Shukrana Yatra.
"The sole purpose of the Shukrana Yatra is to thank the almighty for giving me the strength and courage to pass this important legislation. I am nobody to pass this Act. Guru Sahib himself has taken this service from me", he said, while thanking the gathering in Bathinda district in South Punjab.
‘Amounts to a direct challenge to Sri Akal Takht Sahib’
Akal Takht head Kuldip Singh Gargajj had on Friday (May 8) summoned Punjab assembly speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan to discuss the clauses of the recently-enacted law and directed him to remove the clauses he termed as “objectionable” from the Act within 15 days. The meeting was held at the secretariat of Sri Akal Takht Sahib.
Addressing the media, Gargajj questioned the Mann government's intention and said, "The draft amendment to the sacrilege act was prepared on the night of April 11 and passed within just two days on April 13."
"The Punjab government neither issued any draft publicly nor sought objections from the Sikhs and Sikh religious institutions before secretly pushing the amendment. It was introduced without any discussion. No draft was sent either to Sri Akal Takht Sahib or to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (SGPC) for deliberations", he said.
On CM Mann's ongoing Shukrana Yatra, Gargajj said that at a time when the Akal Takht had invited the assembly speaker Kultar Sandhwan for deliberations regarding the law, CM Mann should have avoided the yatra being taken out for political gain on the issue.
"CM Mann undertaking such 'ego yatra' amounts to a direct challenge to Sri Akal Takht Sahib", he said.
Gargajj also pointed out another key fact that Punjab is a Punjabi-speaking state and it was the government's responsibility to prepare and make the draft amendment public in Punjabi from the very first day, but this has still not been done.
Talking about delayed justice in the 2015 sacrilege cases, the Akal Takht head said that it is the government's responsibility to ensure strict punishment for those guilty of sacrilege.
He sharply criticised the AAP Government's handling of the 2015 sacrilege cases, alleging that the accused were being protected.
"What has the government done to prevent the sacrilege cases of 2015 from being transferred out of Punjab? And why is the main accused - Sirsa based Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim not being punished in these cases yet?", said Gargajj questioning the government of its failure in providing justice to the victims of the 2017 Maur bomb blast.
Akal Takht discusses ‘objectionable clauses’ of law against sacrilege
In his interaction with assembly speaker Sandhwan, the Akal Takht head said, "Punjab government must remove those provisions from the Act which are against Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Khalsa Panth and the sentiments of Guru Nanak's followers. These provisions were incorporated into the law without the consent of the Akal Takht and Sikh institutions; hence the law was unacceptable to Sri Akal Takht Sahib and the Khalsa Panth. Punjab government should not impose the sacrilege act forcibly upon Sikhs."
Gargajj, who was accompanied by Takht Sri Damdama Sahib Jathedar Giani Tek Singh held clause by clause discussion discussions on the law against sacrilege and sought answers from Sandhwan over objections raised by Sikh institutions, Panthic scholars, legal experts, Singh Sabhas, Granthi Sabhas and other Sikh bodies regarding the legislation.
The Akal Takht head said that while he has no objection with strict punishment being awarded to those guilty of sacrilege but the provisions of the law place Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh sentiments and concerns related to Guru Sahib, the internal administrative system of Sikhs, the SGPC, Sikh community, gurdwara committees and other sewadars within a legal framework in the manner of accused persons, which amounts to direct government interference in Sikh affairs.
"The Khalsa Panth can never tolerate this. While there may be laws for those accused of sacrilege, no law can be imposed upon Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Sangat, and sewadars", Gargajj reiterated.
Gargajj said that the “objectionable clauses” in the law have created fear among ordinary Sikhs, which could distance them from Sikh religion and Sri Guru Granth Sahib, terming it a very serious conspiratorial development.
"The decision to make public on the SGPC's website the information about who have kept the sacred birs (copies) of Sri Guru Granth Sahib is highly objectionable. It would expose the personal information of devout Sikhs, which could be misused by anti-Sikh forces and mischievous elements. Hence, there is a strong objection to this clause as well", he mentioned.
Further on the apprehensions of maintaining record of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Akal Takht head said that the SGPC already has a proper arrangement in place. Jathedar Gargajj told Sandhwan that the Akal Takht would provide the Punjab Government with a panel of Sikh legal experts and judges through whom discussions should be held to build a consensus on the anti-sacrilege law.
Gargajj said that until Sri Akal Takht Sahib and the SGPC give their approval in this matter, Sikhs and the Khalsa Panth will not accept the law to which speaker Sandhwan said, "As the matter pertains to the Punjab government, he would hold discussions with them."
The Akal Takht head also warned speaker Sandhwan that if the government did not remove the provisions offending Sikh sentiments from the amended law within 15 days, a gathering of the five Singh Sahibs would be convened by Sri Akal Takht Sahib, and strict action would be taken against the government.
Earlier, the SGPC officials also took Sandhwan to Gurdwara Sri Ramsar Sahib, where they briefed him about the functioning of the Publication Department and also demonstrated how records related to Sri Guru Granth Sahib were maintained.
Ex-SGPC head Bibi Jagir Kaur slams CM Mann
Speaking to The Wire, former SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur said that it is unfortunate that CM Mann has categorically refused to change the objectionable clauses of the anti-sacrilege law.
"Neither the Punjab government shared the draft of the sacrilege act with the Akal Takht and the SGPC before bringing it in the Vidhan Sabha nor they are willing to address the concerns of the Akal Takth head Giani Kuldip Singh Gargaj. CM Bhagwant Mann is setting a wrong precedent. He should have avoided such a statement, as this clearly means challenging the Supreme body of the Sikhs - the Akal Takht Sahib", she said.
Kaur pointed out that even a film, series or docu drama also gets approval from the Akal Takht and the SGPC before its release.
"It is sad that the AAP government is doing politics on such a sensitive issue. The CM is playing with the sentiments of the Sikhs. Instead of making such a statement, CM Mann should have said they will look into the objectionable clauses mentioned by the Akal Takht head", she added.
The ex-president, who was the first woman to head the SGPC also said that if laws alone could stop crime, murders, gang wars, extortions would never take place.
"The AAP government was playing with the sentiments of the Sikhs and gullible people often get swayed away with such tactics. However, the Sacrilege Act 2026 would rather act as a deterrent to Sikh faith and principles, as it is the Sikh devotees themselves who would remain under threat in this act", she added.
‘Akali Dal using the Akal Takht and the SGPC according to their political and religious needs’
Amritsar-based senior journalist Jaspal Sidhu questioned the Akal Takht and SGPC's changing stand on the anti-sacrilege law and said initially they had welcomed it but now they were speaking against it.
"If the Akal Takht and the SGPC have apprehensions about the act, they should have spoken about it right from day one. We have been saying this from the beginning that the sacrilege act was wrong and even held protests in Chandigarh. However, that is not the case with the Akal Takht and the SGPC, the top Sikh institutions."
Sidhu said, "This would lead to religio-political erosion of Akal Takht and the SGPC, which has been going on since long."
So, if CM Mann is terming the Akal Takht as 'Badal Panth', the senior journalist said, "There is nothing wrong with CM's jibe, as the Badals right, from ex-CM Parkash Singh Badal to his son, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, have been using the Akal Takht and the SGPC according to their political and religious needs. It is because of the SAD's politics over the years that there was no validation left of the Akal Takht and the SGPC, which is highly unfortunate."
On CM Mann's statement that there will be no withdrawal of anti-sacrilege at any cost, Sidhu said, "Though speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan appeared before the Akal Takht head, CM Mann has already made it clear that they will not entertain any such suggestions. The issue would turn more political than religious in the days to come."
"The AAP government and the Akal Takht would keep on buying time and debate over the matter and by that time assembly elections will approach", Sidhu added.