India amends 784 provisions to decriminalise minor offences
Change
India passed the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, amending 784 provisions across 79 central laws by decriminalising 717 minor offences and revising 67 provisions to improve ease of living for citizens and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Why it matters
The law removes criminal penalties for hundreds of minor regulatory breaches, preventing prosecutors from seeking jail-based sanctions and shifting enforcement toward civil penalties or administrative remedies. Regulatory and corporate compliance processes must be revised because violations that previously triggered criminal investigations will now follow non-criminal enforcement tracks.
Implications
- • Central ministries' enforcement units must reclassify offences in their rulebooks and update enforcement protocols to use civil or administrative sanctions in place of criminal prosecution.
- • Public prosecutors and government legal departments must cease initiating criminal cases for the 717 reclassified offences and coordinate with administrative regulators on alternative penalty frameworks.
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