Haryana to take final call on decriminalisation of 235 Acts, secys asked to furnish info soon

Pradeep Sharma

Chandigarh, March 21

In a development that would foster ease of doing business and ease of living, the Haryana Government is set to take the final call on the decriminalisation of around 235 Acts.

With that end in mind, the Office of the Chief Secretary has sent a communication to the administrative secretaries of various departments to provide details regarding the decriminalisation of 235 Acts ‘without any further delay’.

Implications under decriminalised Acts

• Offences are treated as civil, not criminal acts
• No registration of FIRs and putting people on trial for non-serious minor violations
• Offences are regulated through administrative measures, fines or other non-criminal penalties

The secretaries have been asked to provide details of the Acts under the heads such as ‘not to be decriminalised’, ‘already decriminalised’ and ‘proposed to be decriminalised with a tentative timeline’.

“The information regarding proposed amendments with respect to decriminalisation of Acts may be provided to the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs,” the communication said.

It may be recalled that the state government had already decriminalised several Acts with the primary aim of avoiding the registration of FIRs, imprisoning people, or putting them on trial for non-serious minor violations of these laws.

Under the decriminalised Acts, the offences are treated as civil offences instead of criminal acts. Besides, they are regulated through administrative measures, fines or other non-criminal penalties.

“The goal is to foster an industry-friendly environment with the ultimate aim of creating ease of living environment within the state,” a senior officer said.

Meanwhile, the Home Department accounted for a maximum number of Acts — 26 — about which the information has now been sought. This is followed by the Urban Local Bodies Department (23), Revenue Department (21), Health Department (19) and the Agriculture and Higher Education Department (12 each).