Jan Vishwas Bill 2025
The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025, recently introduced in the Lok Sabha, marks the second phase of legal reform by the Government of India. Building on the 2023 legislation, this Bill aims to decriminalise and rationalise numerous offences across 16 central laws. The objective is to reduce unnecessary criminal penalties and promote trust-based governance. This move seeks to ease business operations and improve the quality of life by simplifying legal processes and reducing the burden on the judiciary.
Background
India has over 880 central laws, many with criminal provisions unrelated to core criminal justice. Research shows that over 75% of crimes arise from laws governing areas like taxation, shipping, and municipal rules. Many offences carry disproportionate punishments for minor or technical lapses. Examples include arrest for milking a cow on the street or failing to exercise a pet dog properly. Such laws are often outdated and allow arbitrary enforcement. This excessive criminalisation clogs courts and hampers economic activity.
Judicial Burden
India’s courts face over 36 million pending criminal cases, with many delays caused by minor offences. The Jan Vishwas Bill aims to ease this backlog by removing imprisonment clauses for trivial defaults. According to reports, more than half the laws regulating business include imprisonment clauses, creating barriers for entrepreneurs and investors. Simplifying penalties is expected to boost job creation, wealth generation, and GDP growth by encouraging a more business-friendly environment.
Key Provisions of the Bill
The 2025 Bill proposes amendments to 355 legal provisions. It decriminalises 288 offences and modifies 67 others to facilitate ease of living. The affected laws span multiple sectors including banking, pharmaceuticals, transport, textiles, municipal governance, and electricity. The Bill introduces warnings and improvement notices for first-time offenders in 76 offences under 10 acts. For example, non-standard weights and measures violations will first attract an improvement notice rather than immediate penalties.
Penalty Rationalisation
The Bill replaces imprisonment with fines for many minor offences. For instance, non-compliance under the Electricity Act will attract fines instead of jail time. It also introduces a mechanism to increase penalties by 10% every three years for repeat offences. This ensures deterrence without frequent legislative changes. The overall goal is to balance trust and accountability, encouraging compliance through simpler, fairer laws.
Government’s Vision
The Jan Vishwas Bill aligns with the government’s long-standing aim to eliminate unnecessary laws and improve governance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasised the need to remove laws that imprison citizens for minor offences. The Bill has been referred to a Lok Sabha Select Committee for detailed scrutiny. Its report is expected by the next parliamentary session, paving the way for further reforms in India’s legal framework.
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