The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, marking a major legislative move towards decriminalizing minor offenses and making it easier to do business in India.
The bill, which cleared the lower house by voice vote, proposes sweeping changes to 784 provisions in 79 central laws administered by 23 separate ministries.
At the heart of the legislation is a move to decriminalize 717 provisions, replacing potential jail time for minor, technical or procedural misconduct with civil penalties, fines or formal warnings. Speaking in the House, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal emphasized that the reform is designed to promote a culture of trust.
“This bill highlights the trust the government has in its people,” Goyal said. “By removing colonial-era laws, we will ensure that citizens and businesses no longer have to face the courts for the smallest of reasons.”
He further emphasized that the government has brought several reforms to simplify the public delivery system.
The bill proposes a move away from criminal penalties for minor, technical or procedural violations and instead moves toward civil and administrative enforcement mechanisms. It includes measures such as replacing custodial provisions with fines or warnings, introducing tiered enforcement with a warning for first offences, and rationalizing fines in proportion to the nature of the offence.
Key changes
To ensure effective and time-bound enforcement, the law provides for the appointment of arbitrators and the establishment of appellate bodies with the aim of enabling faster disposal of cases, reducing the burden on the courts and promoting the principles of natural justice. The Bill further proposes 67 amendments to the New Delhi Municipal Council Act, 1994 and the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 to simplify procedures and improve citizen convenience in areas such as municipal taxation and vehicle compliance.
This 2026 version is a refined successor to the original Jan Vishwas Bill, which was introduced in August 2025. After a thorough review by a select committee led by Tejasvi Surya, the government withdrew the original draft and announced plans to incorporate wider reforms and other laws. The revised bill introduced on 27 March 2026 reflects these recommendations and aims to remove more than 1,000 redundant or outdated offences, thereby modernizing India’s regulatory environment.
