Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill 2022

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 22 December 2022. It amends forty-two laws to reduce the compliance burden on businesses and individuals and ensure the easiness of doing business. Some of the Acts that are amended by the Act include the Indian Postal Act, 1898, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991, and the Information Technology Act, 2000. In this article, we will discuss in detail the Jan Vishwas Bill 2022.

What is in the Jan Vishwas Bill, 2022?

The Jan Vishwas Bill 2022 proposes to amend 183 provisions in 42 laws administered by 19 ministries. These laws include the Railways Act, 1989; Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006; Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002; the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940, the Public Debt Act of 1944; the Dispensaries Act, 1948; Cinematography Act, 1952; Patents Act, 1970; Factoring Regulation Act, 2011; Copyright Act, 1957; Environment Protection Act, 1986; Motor Vehicles Act, 1988; Trade Marks Act, 1999l; Information Technology Act, 2000; Legal Metrology Act, 2009, etc.

The bill aims to decriminalize a large number of less serious crimes and replace them with monetary penalties.

What is the scope of the bill?

The scope of the bill is discussed below-

• The bill could carry out “quasi-decriminalization”.
• A report by the Observer Research Foundation, Jailed for Doing Business, found that there are more than 26,134 imprisonment clauses in a total of 843 economic laws, rules, and regulations that seek to regulate business and economic activities in India.
• In this light, the number of offenses deregulated under the Act appears to be a mere drop in India’s regulatory framework.
• Regulatory offenses to be considered “decriminalized” need to be prioritized not just for ease of doing business, but for the ills that plague our criminal justice system itself.
• The bill is consistent with the government’s understanding that decriminalization should be limited to regulatory areas.

Why was the bill introduced?

The main question is why the need to introduce the bill was felt. It is answered as follows-

• Increase in criminal cases: For decades, legal scholars have worried that criminal law has grown unprincipled. According to the National Judicial Data Grid, of the 4.3 crore pending cases, nearly 3.2 crore cases involve criminal proceedings.
• Political motives: Unlike punishing wrongdoing, criminalization often becomes a tool for governments to create a strong image. Governments offer a little rationale to support such decisions. Scientists call this “over criminalization”.
• Prison Overcrowding: According to the National Crime Records Bureau’s 2021 prison statistics, a total of 5.54 lakh inmates were incarcerated in prisons with a capacity of 4.25 lakh.

How Jan Vishwas Bill 2022 will ease doing business?

The fear of being jailed for minor offenses is a major factor preventing the growth of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and individual confidence in India. The Jan Vishwas Bill, 2022 aims to address this problem by replacing petty offenses with monetary penalties. The bill also proposes to increase the minimum fine and penalty by 10% imposed every three years once the bill becomes law.

Status of Jan Vishwas Act, 2022

The Jan Vishwas Bill 2022 has been referred to the 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee for scrutiny. The committee has members from both the houses i.e. the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha and submit its report to Parliament by the second part of the budget session of 2023.

What impact will the bill have? 

The bill attempted to make an impact in two ways-

• First, by reducing the burden on the judicial and quasi-judicial system. 
• Secondly, it will positively affect the entrepreneurial mindset of people because people are afraid of doing business in India because even minor offenses can lead them to jail.

Highlights of the bill

The main provisions or highlights of the bill are as follows:

• Decriminalization of certain offenses: Under the bill, several custodial offenses were decriminalized in certain laws by imposing a monetary penalty only. For example, under the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937, forgery of grading marks is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of up to five thousand rupees. The bill replaces this and imposes a penalty of eight lakh rupees. The class designation indicates the quality of the subject matter under the Act of 1937. Under the Information Technology Act, of 2000, disclosure of personal data in contravention of a statutory contract is punishable with imprisonment for a term that may extend to three years a fine up to five lakh rupees, or both. The bill replaces this with a fine of up to 25 lakh rupees.
• In some laws, offenses were decriminalized by imposing a penalty instead of a fine. For example, under the Patents Act, 1970, a person selling a falsely represented article patented in India is liable to a fine of up to one lakh rupees. The bill replaces the penalty with a fine which may be up to ten lakh rupees. In case of an ongoing claim, an additional penalty of one thousand rupees per day will be charged.
• Revision of fines and penalties: The bill increases the fines and penalties for various offenses in the listed laws. Furthermore, these fines and penalties will increase every three years by 10% of the minimum amount.
• Appointment of Magistrates: Under the Bill, the Central Government can appoint one or more Magistrates to determine punishments. Police officers may: (i) subpoena individuals for evidence and (ii) conduct investigations into violations of respected laws. These laws include the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Labeling) Act, 1937, the Air Protection (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and the Public Liability Insurance Act from 1991.
• The bill also specifies appeal mechanisms for any person aggrieved by an order issued by a judge. For example, in the Environment (Protection) Act 1986, an appeal can be made to the National Green Tribunal within 60 days of the order.

Final words

Overall, the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022 aims to provide and expand business opportunities with a speedy and efficient resolution of various minor disputes while ensuring that the government can levy fines. Passed by the Union Minister of Trade and Commerce, the bill promotes ease of doing business by decriminalizing minor offenses in 42 statutes administered by 19 ministries.