The Punjab and Haryana High Court questioned the petitioner’s credentials after the Government pointed to past criminal cases and the suspension of his Bar licence. (File Photo)The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday deferred considering a PIL challenging Punjab’s amended anti-sacrilege law, saying it would first examine whether the plea was maintainable in view of allegations that the petitioner had suppressed facts about his antecedents.A bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry was hearing a plea filed by Simranjeet Singh, 43, a Jalandhar resident, against the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act 2026, which recently received the governor’s assent.At the outset, the bench questioned the petitioner’s credentials after the Punjab Government pointed to past criminal cases registered against him and the suspension of his licence to practise law.“This Court will have to seriously undertake the exercise as to whether the petition can be entertained or not or dismissed in limine,” the bench observed, noting what it described as an apparent suppression of material facts.Three FIRs and suspended Bar licenceAppearing for Punjab, Advocate-General Maninderjit Singh Bedi submitted that Singh’s Bar licence remained under suspension amid scrutiny over the genuineness of his academic degree. He also said the state Bar council had withdrawn the enrolment previously issued to him.“These are the antecedents and credentials of the petitioner,” Bedi informed the court, while also submitting that Singh had been declared a habitual complainant by the Vigilance Bureau and seeking dismissal of his petition with costs.The bench also questioned why the petitioner had not disclosed details of three FIRs registered against him in the past. “When were they quashed, in which proceeding? Nothing has been disclosed,” the court remarked.Story continues below this adThe petitioner’s counsel said the matter raised issues of public importance and offered to place the relevant facts in an affidavit. He also submitted that no FIR was pending against Singh and that his academic degree had not been declared invalid.The court, however, said it could not proceed to examine the constitutional challenge to the law without first scrutinising the petitioner’s antecedents. It adjourned the matter to next week and directed the state to furnish the material relied upon to the petitioner so that he could respond.The amended law, passed by the Punjab Assembly and notified after receiving the governor’s assent, strengthens penalties for sacrilege involving saroops of the Guru Granth Sahib. It prescribes imprisonment ranging from seven to 20 years and fines between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 10 lakh. In cases where sacrilege is committed with the intent to disturb peace or communal harmony, the law provides for punishment extending to life imprisonment, along with a higher fine.In his petition, Singh has challenged the law on constitutional grounds, arguing that since it creates criminal offences in a field covered by central legislation, including provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, it required presidential assent under Article 254(2) of the Constitution rather than only the governor’s approval.Story continues below this adThe plea also contends that the law violates Article 14 (equality before the law) by confining its protection to one religious scripture while excluding those of other faiths and that its definition of sacrilege is vague.This is not the first time Singh’s credentials have come under judicial scrutiny. The high court dismissed an earlier PIL with costs after observing that he had not approached the court with clean hands and failed to disclose that the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana had suspended his licence to practise law.