No jail for honking or smoking in metro: How Jan Vishwas Bill 2026 ends imprisonment for everyday violations

Parliament on Thursday passed Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, to amend certain provisions in different laws for decriminalising and rationalising minor offences to further promote ease of doing business and living.

It seeks to decriminalise 717 provisions and amend 67 provisions to facilitate ease of living across 79 Central Acts administered by 23 Ministries.

Here's everything you need to know about the Bill replacing jail terms for minor regulatory lapses with fines, warnings, and a structured appeals process.

What is the Jan Vishwas Bill 2026?

Dozens of central laws carried imprisonment provisions for minor, technical, or procedural defaults, treating procedural lapses on par with genuine criminal offences, PIB said in a statement. The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026 seeks to end this by replacing criminal sanctions for such defaults with civil penalties, warnings, and a structured adjudication process, ensuring that citizens and businesses are not subjected to imprisonment for lapses that cause no deliberate harm.

Also Read: Parliament passes Jan Vishwas Amendment Bill

According to PIB, the Bill marks a significant milestone in the government's efforts to promote Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living, while advancing a governance framework based on trust and proportionate regulation.

It has since been passed by both Houses of Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reacting to the passage on April 2, called it a big boost to Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business, saying the Bill marks the end of rules and regulations that are outdated and ensures speedy disposal of cases, as per a statement on pmindia.gov.in.

How will enforcement work going forward?

Instead of the state reaching for criminal prosecution as a first response to non-compliance, the law now mandates a graded approach.

According to PIB, the Bill envisages a shift from criminal penalties for minor, technical, or procedural defaults to civil and administrative enforcement mechanisms.

Key measures include replacement of imprisonment provisions with monetary penalties or warnings, graded enforcement mechanisms including warnings for first-time contraventions, and rationalisation of fines and penalties in proportion to the nature of the offence.

In practical terms, this means a first-time offender in many categories will receive an advisory. A repeat offence may attract a warning. Only persistent non-compliance will invite a civil penalty, and even that penalty will be determined through a structured process rather than a criminal court.

To ensure time-bound enforcement, the Bill provides for the appointment of Adjudicating Officers and the establishment of Appellate Authorities.

These measures aim to facilitate speedy disposal of cases and reduce litigation burden on courts, while ensuring adherence to principles of natural justice.

What changes for citizens in daily life?

Beyond business-facing reforms, the Bill makes targeted changes that affect citizens directly. According to the press release, the 67 ease-of-living amendments cover the New Delhi Municipal Council Act, 1994 and the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, aimed at simplifying procedures and enhancing citizen convenience.

• Under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, compliance-related procedures are being simplified, reducing the scope for minor infractions to attract criminal liability.
• Under the NDMC Act, 1994, property tax is restructured into separate building tax and vacant land tax components.
• The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 are among the Acts proposed for further decriminalisation under the Bill, according to PIB's 2025 release on the legislation.

How was this Bill put together?

The proposed reforms are based on a comprehensive consultative process involving Inter-Ministerial Committee meetings, High-Level Committee meetings under NITI Aayog, interactions with industry associations, and civil society organisations.

The Select Committee on the Jan Vishwas (Amendment) Bill, 2025 alone undertook a consultation process consisting of 49 sittings with committee members, participating Ministries, external stakeholders, and subject-matter experts.

Also Read: 'Reform or risk?' Jan Vishwas bill 2.0 triggers political face-off in Lok Sabha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi specifically called out this consultative approach in his statement after Parliament passed the Bill, noting it as something noteworthy and commending all those who contributed their insights to the drafting process, as per pmindia.gov.in.

The 2026 Bill is the third and most expansive iteration of a decriminalisation push that has been building since 2023. The initiative started with the Jan Vishwas Act, 2023, which decriminalised 183 provisions in 42 Central Acts administered by 19 Ministries and Departments.

That was followed by the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025, introduced in Lok Sabha in August 2025, which proposed amendments to 355 provisions across 16 Central Acts. That Bill was referred to a Select Committee chaired by Tejasvi Surya.

The committee held 49 sittings, examined the provisions under consideration, and then went further, recommending decriminalisation across 62 additional Central Acts beyond what was originally proposed. The 2025 Bill was withdrawn in March 2026, and the far wider 2026 version was introduced in its place.

The progression tells its own story: 183 provisions in 2023, 355 in 2025, and now 784 in 2026. Each iteration has expanded in scope as more ministries and more laws were brought into the reform framework.

What is the larger goal?

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, replying to the discussion in the Rajya Sabha, said that for decades, citizens have been governed by laws with a colonial mindset where punishment prevailed over fairness.

"We strongly believe that for minor offences where there is no harm caused to others or society... where there is no deliberate attempt to break the law, we must give the person a chance through a warning, an improvement notice, or a small penalty, which can be escalated if they become a repeat offender," he said.