Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal introduced the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022 in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
The bill seeks to decriminalize minor offenses to promote ease of doing business.
“There are several crimes in our country where small mistakes lead to people facing legal action and the onslaught of the courts. Our government believes that we should trust the people; the common businessman wants an honest facility to make an honest living,” Goyal said while introducing the bill.
Noting the reasons behind the introduction of the law, Goyal remarked, “People who have made small mistakes should not be sent to court for that.
They should be punished, but they should not end up in a legal situation. We believe that the trust of the people and the trust of the entrepreneur is extremely important and will also reduce the burden on the courts.”
the bill’s statement of objects and reasons states: “To amend certain legislation for the decriminalization and rationalization of minor offenses to further strengthen trust-based governance for the ease of life and business.
A unique feature of the proposal is a 10% increase in the minimum amount of fines and penalties imposed, every three years after the bill becomes law.
The proposed bill was submitted to the 31-member Joint Committee of Parliament for scrutiny.
Members from the Lok Sabha include PP Chaudhary, Sanjay Jaiswal, Queen Ojha, Rajendra Agrawal, Gaurav Gogoi, A Raja, Rajendra Agarwal, Poonam Pramod Mahajan and Sougata Ray.
The bill will seek to amend laws such as the Printing and Registration of Books Act 1867, the Boiler Act 1923, the Public Debt Act 1944 and the Indian Forest Act 1927.