By Dr. Gyan Pathak
On the third day after the Independence Day speech of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his government has introduced on August 18, 2025, the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025 in the Lok Sabha and it was referred to a Select Committee of the Parliament of India. The Bill has proposed to provide “improved ease of living”, “reduced compliance burden” and to “enhance trust-based governance”. It goes without saying that it actually provides “ease of living” to offenders, and ignores the victims’ interest, who actually need protection from being victimized.
PM Modi had said in his speech, “In our country, there are such laws that can put people in jail for very small things — you would be shocked. No one has really paid attention to them. I have been pursuing this, because these unnecessary laws that put our country’s citizens behind bars should be abolished. We had introduced a Bill in Parliament earlier, and we have brought it again this time.”
It should also be recalled that Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman had promised in her budget speech on February 1, 2025, that government would bring Jan Vishwas 2.0. She had said that Jan Vishwas Bill 2.0 would decriminalise more than 100 provisions in various laws.
Jan Vishwas Act was enacted in 2023, which had decriminalized 183 offences in 42 Central Acts administered by 19 ministries and departments. The acts promised to provide giving further boost to Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business. The current Jan Vishwas Bill as introduced in the Lok Sabah proposes to amend over 350 provisions, and over 36 offences have been decriminalised, as has been reported. The Bill was cleared by the Union Cabinet last week.
The Aims and Objectives of Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025 say “The cornerstone of democratic governance lies in the government trusting its own people and institutions. A web of outdated rules and regulations causes trust deficit. It has been the endeavour of the government to achieve the principle of ‘minimum government maximum governance’, redefining the regulatory landscape of the country under ease of living and ease of doing business reforms.”
The bill states that a “major factor” hampering the growth of the business ecosystem and individual confidence is the fear of imprisonment for minor offences. In a statement circulated to MPs the government has said, “The endeavour is not only to make lives and businesses easier but also to reduce judicial burden. Settlement of a large number of issues, by compounding method, adjudication and administrative mechanism, without involving courts, will enable persons to remedy minor contraventions and defaults, sometimes committed unknowingly by them, and save time, energy and resources.”
The Jan Vishwas Bill 2025 seeks to amend several provisions under several act which included the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, Central Silk Board Act, 1948, Road Transport Corporations Act, 1950, Tea Act, 1953, Apprentices Act, 1961, Coir Industry Act, 1953, The Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, New Delhi Municipal Council Act, 1994, Electricity Act, 2003, and Textile Committee Act, 1963.
Many proposed changes are risky for human lives. In place of victims, offenders are given advantage. One can take example of the Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940. Proposed amendment removes the six months jail term and a fine of Rs10,000 on violation of certain manufacturing and sale of ayurvedic, siddha, or Unani drugs. Jail term is altogether proposed to be abolished and new provision is inserted for fine up to Rs30,000, to offenders.
Nevertheless, not all proposed provisions are bad. For example, India has already removed licence raj for the business which rich people do, but still licence raj is continued for the business activities that the poor people do. Take the example of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, which has a fine of Rs100 to anyone who hawks without license. The bill has rightly proposed to remove this law. Several acts in the country are against poor, farmers, and workers and pro-rich, pro-business, and pro-corporate which actually need to be removed. Government must not go on putting the rich, businesses, and Industries at advantage over the victims from the working class, farmers, and the poor.
The Union Government under PM Narendra Modi has been actually decriminalising chiefly those provisions of the laws that have protected the poor, the farmers, and the working class from victimisation by the rich people, business, and industries. They are chiefly giving ease of living to offenders and ease of doing business while ignoring the protection of their victims.
The statement in the bill reads, “The goal of Jan Vishwas Bill is to create a more business-friendly environment and promote ease of living by eliminating unnecessary legal hurdles and simplifying the regulatory landscape. The initiative underscores India’s commitment to creating a predictable, transparent and fair regulatory environment.”
The question is why should we be lenient to the offenders and without sympathy and compassion to victims? We need only to save people from becoming victim of laws by changing them, but we shielding offenders against victims is a bad idea. Victims of laws as well as offenders need protection, while many of the changes already made in Jan Vishwas 1.0 have made the victims more vulnerable. The proposed Jan Vishwas 2.0 is not different.
Therefore, the Parliamentary Committee must give attention to the protection of victims, and ease of living for them also. Government’s job is preventing the people from being victimised, and not shielding the offenders completely or leg to lightly. Only the rich are not the victims of laws, but poor, farmers and working class are also their victims. Let us also protect the poor, farmers, and the working class. (IPA Service)
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