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Thenewsdose.com 

Chandigarh, July 10,2025,UPDATED:7.50PM 
The Punjab government is set to introduce a draft Bill proposing stricter punishment for acts of sacrilege in the Vidhan Sabha session on Friday, but the legislation will not be enacted immediately. The state government has decided to first seek wider public opinion before finalising the provisions of the proposed law.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Council of Ministers, chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday.

Addressing the media, CM Mann said, “We want wider public opinion on this sensitive matter. A consultative committee will be formed to engage with religious organisations, legal experts, lawmakers, and citizens before the Bill is enacted.”

While the final draft of the Bill is yet to be made public, government sources reveals  that the proposed penalty for sacrilege could be life imprisonment, rather than capital punishment. The draft law is expected to be a state-specific legislation, not a part of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).

This marks the first formal legislative step by the Mann government to address the long-standing demand for stringent action against sacrilege, an issue that has triggered widespread unrest in Punjab over the past decade.

Other Key Cabinet Decisions

In the same meeting, the Cabinet also approved:

• A universal health insurance scheme of Rs 10 lakh to each family of Punjab aimed at providing coverage to all citizens of state.

• An official resolution—also to be presented in the Vidhan Sabha on Friday—seeking to withdraw the state’s earlier consent given to the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) for deployment of central forces at the Bhakra dam installations. The government’s move to revisit its position on BBMB comes amid ongoing tensions between Punjab and the Centre over jurisdiction and control of key infrastructure and resources. The Vidhan Sabha is expected to witness heated debate on all three matters during the ongoing session.