From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: In a significant move to promote ease of doing business, the Union Cabinet has approved amendments in the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, to decriminalise the minor offences by amending 183 provisions across 42 Acts administered by 19 ministries.
The bill was initially introduced by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in the Lok Sabha on December 22, 2022 and then referred to a joint committee of Parliament for further examination.
In March, the committee adopted its report that was laid before both the Houses of Parliament. It recommended that the states and Union Territories follow the model of the bill to decriminalise minor offences to promote ease of doing business and living. It also wanted implementation with retrospective effect to help reduce the backlog of the court cases. The bill is likely to be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament beginning the next week.
The significant recommendation of the committee, accepted by the Cabinet is to replace imprisonmeent with penlties to prevent a surge of litigations. The amendment in the Bill aims to rationalise monetary penalties bsed on the gravity of the offences, promoting the trust-based governance.
The acts to be amended include the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940, Pharmacy Act of 1948, Public Debt Act of 1944, Cinematograph Act of 1952, Copyright Act of 1957, Patents Act of 1970,Environmeent (Protection) Act of 1986, Trade Mrks Act of 1999, Railways Actr of 1989, Motor Vehicles Act of 1988, Information Technology Act of 2000, Prevention of Money Laudering Act of 2002, Food Safety and Standards Ac of 2006, Legal Metrology Act of 2009 and Factoring Regulation Act of 2011.
