The government may review nearly five crore pending court cases linked to minor offences after the Jan Vishwas law came into force, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said. He also asked states and authorities to align ongoing enforcement with the new framework and dispose of non-serious cases.
The move aims to extend the impact of decriminalising minor violations and reduce the burden on courts and businesses, while addressing a large backlog of cases.
Addressing a press conference, Goyal said around 1,000 legal provisions governing such offences had created uncertainty and enabled rent-seeking and harassment. “Around 1,000 provisions had led to uncertainty and opened the door to rent-seeking and harassment,” he said, adding that the new law seeks to decriminalise a range of minor violations and ease compliance.
He said the government is examining whether existing cases can be revisited and disposed of to widen the benefits of the new law. However, he added that the legislation is prospective. “The law is prospective in nature, and any retrospective application will need careful consideration,” Goyal said.
He urged local authorities and prosecutors to act in line with the revised framework. “A general advisory has already been issued to states to review such cases,” he said, calling for faster disposal of matters involving non-serious offences.
The Centre will work with states to streamline the review process as part of efforts to reduce judicial backlog and improve ease of doing business.
Goyal said the government remains open to reviewing existing laws and may consider further rounds of decriminalisation going forward.
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