Commerce Ministry Calls on Departments to Review Pending Cases and Withdraw Non-Critical Offences Under Jan Vishwas Bill

Government Seeks to Reduce Judicial Load and Promote Ease of Living

The Commerce and Industry Ministry is urging all departments to reconsider pending court cases involving minor offenses in light of the recently passed Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026. This bill aims to decriminalize and rationalize approximately 1,000 minor offenses to improve the business environment and prevent harassment of individuals.

The bill, which was passed by Parliament on Thursday, seeks to amend 784 provisions in 79 central laws. This move is expected to significantly reduce the load on the judiciary and promote ease of living. According to estimates, there are five crore pending court cases relating to minor offenses, with the majority of these cases not being critical.

Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), stated that the government has advised all departments to review pending cases and withdraw prosecution wherever possible. This is part of a broader drive to reduce the load on the courts. The government has issued a general advisory to review all pending cases and withdraw prosecution if the offenses are deemed minor.

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The passage of the bill has been hailed as a significant step towards promoting ease of living. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal expressed hope that the bill would provide a big relief to past cases by allowing prosecutors to close them based on the new provisions.

The bill proposes to remove imprisonment in 57 provisions and fines in 158 provisions. Additionally, imprisonment is proposed to be reduced in 17 provisions, and imprisonment and fines are proposed to be converted to a penalty in 113 provisions. The bill also includes 67 amendments under the New Delhi Municipal Council Act, 1994, and the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, to facilitate ease of living.

The government is open to further suggestions to re-examine laws at the central government level. Minister Goyal encouraged states to follow the lead of 12 states that have already introduced their own versions of the Jan Vishwas bill to decriminalize state laws.

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The bill also proposes to decriminalize first offenses related to air and noise pollution, with penalties only applicable to subsequent violations. For air pollution, the penalty for the first offense is a warning, while for subsequent offenses, driving licenses will be suspended for three months. Similarly, for noise pollution, only a warning will be issued for the first offense, while stricter provisions will apply for subsequent offenses.