The proposed Bill prescribing life imprisonment for sacrilege radically exceeds the punishments set by existing criminal laws, raising serious concerns about proportionality. Therefore, this complex history of communal strife and legal overreach should caution the present Bill from reopening old wounds and replicating past mistakes. In addition to this, the present Bill seeks to misapply the precedent laid down in Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee v. Som Nath Dass5. Therefore, the present bill has the potential to undo what the precedent of the Som Nath Dass case delineated. Lacunas in safeguards in our present criminal lawsIndia’s present criminal law framework through Section 299 BNS essentially replicates the substance of Section 295-A IPC, with changes mainly in wording rather than underlying principles.

Source: Indian Express December 23, 2025 03:40 UTC