Govt to amend Acts to decriminalise minor contraventions

Mumbai's government proposed a bill to amend laws, replacing criminal penalties for minor offenses with civil penalties to ease court burdens and boost efficiency.

MUMBAI: In accordance with the central government’s Jan Vishwas Act, which has decriminalised various penal provisions in the country’s laws, the state government on Monday tabled a bill to amend provisions that criminalise minor contraventions. The bill proposes to replace punishments meted out for these with civil penalties in order to reduce the burden on courts and increase administrative efficiency.

Govt to amend Acts to decriminalise minor contraventions

Among the laws that are proposed to be amended are the Shops and Establishment (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, the Maharashtra Medical Council Act and the Nursing Home Registration Act. The government proposes to amend Section 7 of the Shops and Establishments Act—which deals with not informing the State about a rise in the number of employees in an establishment—and other violations by owners by removing the current provision of imprisonment.

The bill also proposes to make changes in the Maharashtra Industrial Relations Act by restructuring the penalties, fines and punishments dealing with the back wages of a dismissed employee on his reinstatement. It replaces the word ‘fine’ with ‘penalty’ imposed on employees for the illegal activity of a strike/lockout and proposes wage compensation to employees who suffered because of the strike. The fine has been increased under this section. The bill also provides for an increase in the fine related to sections dealing with industrial courts, conciliation officers and tribunals.

The bill has proposed an amendment in the section dealing with registration in the Maharashtra Nursing Homes Act by increasing the penalty to ₹1 lakh from ₹10,000 for non-registration. But at the same time, it has removed the word ‘penalty’, replacing it with the less harsh ‘punishment’, thus removing the provision of imprisonment of up to six months.

Similarly, amendments have been proposed in Sections 9 and 12, which deal with allowing government officials to inspect a nursing home for any irregularities. The fine for not permitting an official to do so will now invite a higher fine. The bill also proposes stricter penalty for the evasion of stamp duty and execution of unstamped documents and false declarations by amending Section 59 and other sections of the Maharashtra Stamp Duty Act.

The government has already decriminalised some provisions in the Maharashtra Police Act, the Maharashtra Cinemas Act and the State Labour Laws, and now wants further decriminalisation, as they “deter entrepreneurship and hinder ease of doing business and ease of living business”, the bill states. It also states that excessive regulation, offences of a minor and technical nature and offences of procedural non-compliances impose a significant cost on businesses, citizens and the state.

The bill is expected to come up for debate this week.