Jan Vishwas Bill: Two minor offences under Delhi Police Act 1978 scrapped

In a significant step towards decriminalising outdated and minor regulatory provisions, Parliament on Thursday cleared the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026. The legislation removes criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment under two specific sections of the Delhi Police Act, 1978, which the Government has described as no longer relevant in contemporary times.

The Bill, which amends 80 central laws and rationalises over 700 minor offences across various statutes, aims to promote “trust-based governance,” reduce the burden on the judicial system, and ease compliance for ordinary citizens. It replaces many criminal provisions with civil penalties or simply omits them altogether, building on the earlier Jan Vishwas Act of 2023.

Under the new law, Section 95 of the Delhi Police Act, which penalised allowing a child under seven years of age to commit a nuisance in or near a public street or place, stands omitted.

The provision previously attracted a fine of up to Rs 100. It covered situations where a guardian or person in custody permitted a young child to ease themselves or otherwise cause annoyance to passers-by.

Similarly, Section 102(c), which made it an offence to be found in any building or vehicle between sunset and sunrise without a satisfactory explanation, has also been removed. This clause carried a punishment of up to three months’ imprisonment and was often viewed as a broad, vaguely worded provision reminiscent of colonial-era vagrancy laws.

These changes form part of a larger package that eliminates certain offences entirely while converting others from criminal to civil liabilities.

Official summaries of the Bill highlight the omission of provisions such as giving false fire alarms under the Delhi Police Act, alongside similar outdated clauses in other municipal and copyright laws. The overarching goal is to move away from ‘Inspector Raj’ by treating minor infractions through administrative warnings or fines rather than criminal prosecution.