Govt to table Jan Vishwas Bill, aims to scrap ‘jail for trivialities’

The new bill builds on the 2023 Act that decriminalised 183 provisions. Officials say the move will cut red tape, rationalise penalties, and strengthen ease of living and business in India.

New Delhi: The Jan Vishwas (Amendment) Bill 2025 to decriminalise certain minor offences to promote ease of living and business will be introduced by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

According to the list of business of the lower House posted on the Lok Sabha website, the minister will introduce the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025, "to amend certain enactments for decriminalising and rationalising offences to further enhance trust-based governance for ease of living and doing business".

Over 350 provisions are proposed to be amended through this bill.

According to an official, the move will help create a more conducive business and a citizen-centric environment in the country.

The legislation is part of the government's effort to improve the business climate of the country.

Earlier in 2023, the Jan Vishwas (Amendment to Provisions) Act was enacted, which decriminalised 183 provisions in 42 central Acts administered by 19 ministries and departments.

Through the Act, the government removed imprisonment and/or fines in some provisions. Imprisonment was removed and fine was retained in a few rules, while in some cases imprisonment and fine were converted to a penalty.

In his Independence Day speech on August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "There are laws in our country, astonishing as it may sound, that provide for imprisonment over trivial matters, and no one ever paid attention to them".

"I have taken it upon myself to ensure that such unnecessary laws, which place Indian citizens behind bars, are abolished. We had introduced a bill in Parliament earlier; we have brought it again this time," he noted.

The government has earlier abolished more than 40,000 unnecessary compliances. It has also scrapped over 1,500 obsolete laws.

"We have gone to Parliament to amend dozens of laws to simplify them, always placing the interests of the public first," Modi said.