Minor violations will not invite jail terms anymore

Minor violations, no longer, will invite jail terms, and instead, stiffer fines are to be paid. These sweeping reforms are part of the Delhi Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill 2026, listed for introduction in the ongoing Winter Session of the Delhi Assembly.

As per the proposal, unauthorised construction or alteration in an industrial estate may attract a civil penalty of up to Rs 25,000, with an additional fine of up to RS 1,000 per day for a continuing violation. Misuse of industrial land can draw a penalty of up to Rs 10,000 plus Rs 500 per day. Similarly, failure to comply with key provisions will attract a penalty between Rs 10,000 and Rs 25,000 under the amended Section 40, while other contraventions will draw fines of up to Rs 5,000.

Similarly, the Bill also proposes that violations under the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954, such as failure to maintain prescribed registers or non-compliance with working hours norms, will move from prosecution to monetary penalties, with a general slab of Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 for key contraventions, and lower but enhanced penalties for continuing defaults. The Chief Inspector of Shops is to be notified as the adjudicating officer, with appeals lying before the Labour Commissioner, and all civil penalties recoverable as land revenue.

It further proposes that the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission gets explicit power to impose civil penalties up to Rs one lakh, along with a per-day penalty up to Rs 6,000 for continuing contraventions where no separate penalty is specified, in addition to higher slabs in serious cases under the Delhi Electricity Reform Act, 2000.

For specified violations in the Act, the earlier mix of imprisonment and fines is proposed to be replaced with a purely civil penalty regime in the range of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 20 lakh, plus a daily levy of Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 for continuing breaches.

The Bill provides for designated adjudicating officers and appellate authorities under this law as well, with powers to summon persons and documents before passing penalty orders.

In the agricultural marketing sector, the Delhi Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act, 1998, is proposed to be re-cast to expressly treat key breaches as liable for civil penalties, replacing jail terms and small fines with penalties up to Rs 50,000 in some sections and an additional per-day levy for continuing violations. The Secretary of the market committee will act as adjudicating officer for a cluster of contraventions, with an appeal mechanism and power to recover unpaid penalties as arrears of land revenue.

The Bill also introduces a detailed civil penalty under the Delhi Water Board Act, 1998, through a Fourth Schedule that prescribes specific penalty amounts for a wide range of water-related violations, from misuse of domestic supply and illegal connections to obstruction of Board officials.

Penalties for some categories start at Rs 10,000 and scale up with plot size and use (domestic, commercial, industrial, large facilities), with repeated violations attracting two to four times the base civil penalty. Across the education sector, fee regulation laws governing professional colleges and diploma-level technical institutions, the Bill removes imprisonment clauses and substitutes them with very high civil penalties that can go up to Rs 3 crore for serious violations, such as charging capitation fees.

The Bill has been listed for introduction in the Delhi assembly for the past two days but due to early adjournment of the proceedings, it could not be taken up.

The Bill covers to amend the Delhi Industrial Development, Operation and Maintenance Act, 2010, and the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954. The Delhi Electricity Reform Act, 2000, and the National Capital Territory (Incredible India) Bed and Breakfast Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2007.

The Delhi Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act, 1998, The Delhi Water Board Act, 1998, The Delhi Professional Colleges or Institutions (Prohibition of Capitation Fee Regulation of Admission Fixation of Non-Exploitative Fee and other Measures to Ensures Equity and Excellence) Act, 2007,  and The Delhi Diploma Level Technical Education Institutions (Prohibition of Capitation Fee, Regulation of Admission, Fixation of Non-Exploitative Fee and other Measures to Ensure Equity and Excellence) Act, 200.