Commerce Ministry urges case withdrawals for minor offenses
What's the story
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has urged all departments to consider withdrawing pending court cases involving minor offenses. This comes in light of the recently passed Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, which seeks to decriminalize and rationalize around 1,000 minor offenses. The move is aimed at reducing the burden on the judiciary while improving the overall business environment in India.
Legislative changes
Jan Vishwas Bill amends 784 provisions across 79 central laws
The Jan Vishwas Bill seeks to amend 784 provisions across 79 central laws. The primary objective is to decriminalize and rationalize minor offenses, thereby improving the business environment and reducing harassment. Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), emphasized that these legal changes warrant a review of all relevant provisions by concerned departments.
Court relief
Government's initiative to ease court burden
Bhatia also stressed on the government's initiative to ease the burden on courts by reviewing pending cases and withdrawing non-critical offenses wherever possible. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal revealed that there are an estimated five crore pending court cases related to minor offenses, most of which shouldn't have reached the courts in the first place. He expressed hope that these could be resolved under new provisions, providing significant relief for past cases.
Bill impact
Goyal open to suggestions for further reviewing central laws
Goyal said the 1,000 sections in the bill were a source of uncertainty and potential harassment. He added that the government is open to suggestions for further reviewing all central laws. The bill proposes to abolish imprisonment in 57 provisions and fines in 158 provisions. It also seeks to reduce imprisonment in 17 provisions and convert imprisonment and fine into penalty in 113 provisions.
Proposed changes
Proposed amendments under NDMC and Motor Vehicles Act
The bill also proposes 67 amendments under the New Delhi Municipal Council Act, 1994 and the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. These changes are aimed at making life easier for citizens. Bhatia said penalties have been prescribed only for first offense of violating air pollution standards but driving license will be suspended for three months. Stricter provisions will apply to repeat violations while noise pollution has been decriminalized on first offense with only a warning issued.