New Delhi, Jan 9 (KNN) Stemming the colonial mindset in India’s business laws, the Jan Vishwas Bill tabled by the Government in the Winter Session of the Parliament proposes to remove 186 provisions for Jail sentences for non – compliance of the relevant sections from 42central Acts, largely concerned with Doing Business.

This is a significant initiative by the government which has been overlooked, Debashis Bandyopadhyay, retired industrial advisor to GoI told KNN India explaining that it would ‘civilise’ our business laws.

Besides making the governance system more civilised, he opined that the initiative of Jan Vishwas will also assuage the fear of MSMEs related to imprisonment and coercion of inspectors.

Bandyopadhyay further said that the government needs to note that the Bill provides too little too late as, according to researchers, there are more than 5000 imprisonment clauses in the entire existing laws, most of which were made with a colonial mindset and are in compatible with our democratic set up.

“But it is a good beginning and let’s hope all parties will support the Bill and it will be enacted at the earliest,” he said.

Any lapse in running any identified Industry without due permission, inability to inform any case of any Air pollution caused by the regular operations, even removal or defacing of Boards and Hoardings put up by the authorities in the factory premises, called for provision of imprisonment, which all now have been proposed to be modified to cash penalty in the Bill.

In the Environment Protection Act also the draconian clauses for imprisonment for operating a factory without clearance of the pollution control board and non - compliance of the instructions of the competent authorities has been amended to cash penalties in the Bill.

The punishment to Directors and other office bearers of a defaulting company has also been converted to penalty.

The Trade Marks Act has a provision of imprisonment upto 3 years for any infringement, in simple words, copying of others’ trade mark.

The new Bill has a provision of amending it to cash penalty upto Rs 1 lakh.  (KNN Bureau)