NEW DELHI, July 12 (IANS) The Jan Vishwas (Sentences Amendment) Bill is likely to be considered by the union cabinet, 2022 which proposes decriminalization of various offenses in 42 statutes, including minor offenses that carry a prison sentence.
In addition, the Cabinet can study certain amendments in the provisions of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Organization) Law of 1957, informed sources said.
The trade union cabinet meeting is currently taking place.
The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill 2022 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 22nd December 2022 and aims to reduce the compliance burden on individuals and businesses to achieve the twin goals of ease of doing business and ease of living for citizens.
It will amend approximately 113 prison articles in various legislations, which govern matters related to the environment, air pollution, housing, money laundering and others.
Soon after its introduction, the bill was referred to a joint parliamentary committee led by BJP Member of Parliament, BB Chaudhary. The committee had presented its report in Lok Sabha on the proposed legislation in March during the budget session. It has suggested that the government introduce the proposed amendments to the law “retroactively to ease pending legal proceedings in respect of criminalized offences”.
Unlike civil liabilities, criminal liabilities cannot be imposed retroactively. However, it can be discarded retroactively. In its report, the committee approved in principle the majority of the 183 provisions proposed to be amended through 42 laws administered by 19 ministries.
In many cases, it recommended a penalty rather than a fine to “avoid further litigation.” He also recommended increasing fines in many laws. For example, under Section 29 of the Medicines and Cosmetics Act, 1940, which deals with the penalty for using the Government Analyst Report for advertisement, the committee recommended that the fine be increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs 1 in case of first use of such report for advertisement.
The panel also noted that rather than punishing wrongful conduct, criminalizing minor acts of omission or omission often becomes a tool for the executive to project a strong image.
To bolster its argument, the committee noted that “since many laws belong to the British era where the state did not trust its citizens, this is no longer the case in the country. This ‘extreme criminalization’ is required to be addressed by justifying penalties in law and giving flexibility. It often constitutes Regulatory burden is a major deterrent for investors.”
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