Good News Network · 8 hours ago

Judicial Overhaul in India Decriminalizes Hundreds of Offenses That Previously Landed You in Prison

India has quietly dismantled a system that turned ordinary people into criminals, decriminalizing 717 offenses through the Jan Vishwas Act -- part of the nation's largest-ever legislative review. Street vendors without licenses, minor regulatory violations, and hundreds of other non-violent infractions once carried prison sentences; now they draw fines or warnings, a recognition that "the severity of the punishment is commensurate with the severity of the offence." The reform addresses a stark truth: when governments criminalize everyday activities, they instantly create thousands of criminals, burdening families, courts, and futures with consequences that outlast the original act. By replacing imprisonment with proportional penalties and establishing adjudicating officers to speed case resolution, India is choosing a system that sees compliance as something to facilitate rather than punish.