Introduction
The Delhi Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 (Delhi Act No. 6 of 2026) amends eight Delhi enactments in their application to the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Its object, as stated in the long title, is to decriminalise minor offences and rationalise punishments so that governance is based on trust and ease of living and doing business improves. In most of the amended provisions, imprisonment and small criminal fines have been replaced by civil penalties imposed by an adjudicating officer, with a right of appeal.
It is a State law and should not be confused with the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 (Act No. 8 of 2026) passed by Parliament, which amends Central Acts.
Dates and Notification
|
Event |
Details (as per the Delhi Gazette) |
|---|---|
|
Passed by the Delhi Legislative Assembly |
9 January 2026 |
|
Assent of the President of India |
2 April 2026 |
|
Notification |
16 April 2026, Delhi Gazette (Extraordinary), Part IV, No. 101, Notification F.14 (106)/LA-2026/ala1/22-43, issued by the Department of Law, Justice and Legislative Affairs, GNCTD. |
|
Commencement (Section 1) |
From the date of publication in the Official Gazette, that is, 16 April 2026 |
Acts Amended and Changes Made
|
No. |
Act |
Earlier position |
Now |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Delhi Industrial Development, Operation and Maintenance Act, 2010 |
Section 18 (construction or use contrary to terms of holding) replaced; |
Section 18: civil penalty up to Rs. 25,000 (plus Rs. 1,000 per day) for construction or alteration, and up to Rs. 10,000 (plus Rs. 500 per day) for use contrary to terms. Sections 28 and 29 omitted. Section 30 (companies) now makes the company and persons in charge liable for civil penalty only. Section 31 (obstruction) now refers to proceedings under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. New Section 28A (adjudicating officer not below Executive Director) and 28B (appeal to officer not below Managing Director). |
|
2 |
Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954 |
Section 40(1): fine of Rs. 25 to Rs. 250. Section 40(2): fine of Rs. 5. Section 41: imprisonment up to 3 months, or fine of Rs. 50 to Rs. 250, or both. |
Section 40(1): civil penalty of Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 25,000. Section 40(2): Rs. 250 to Rs. 500. Section 41: Rs. 500 to Rs. 5,000. Section 42 (obstruction) now goes to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Section 45: Chief Inspector of Shops is the adjudicating officer; appeal to Labour Commissioner within 60 days. |
|
3 |
Delhi Electricity Reform Act, 2000 |
Section 43: imprisonment up to 3 years, or fine up to Rs. 5 lakh, or both, with Rs. 20,000 per day for continuing offence. |
Section 43: civil penalty of Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh, plus Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 50,000 per day. Section 33 substituted: Commission may impose civil penalties (residual penalty up to Rs. 1 lakh, and up to Rs. 6,000 per day) and direct compensation. Sections 44 to 47 omitted. Part XI heading changed from Offences to Contraventions. |
|
4 |
National Capital Territory (Incredible India) Bed and Breakfast Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2007 |
Section 19: fine up to Rs. 5,000. Section 20: imprisonment up to 3 months or fine up to Rs. 10,000. Section 21: imprisonment up to 6 months or fine up to Rs. 20,000. Section 22(2): fine up to Rs. 2,000. Section 23: imprisonment up to 3 months or fine up to Rs. 5,000. |
Civil penalty up to Rs. 15,000 (Section 19), Rs. 30,000 (Section 20), Rs. 50,000 (Section 21), Rs. 5,000 (Section 22(2)) and Rs. 15,000 (Section 23). Section 24 (obstruction) goes to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. New Section 25 (adjudication) and Section 26 (appeal within 60 days). |
|
5 |
Delhi Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act, 1998 |
Section 103: imprisonment up to 1 month or fine up to Rs. 5,000. Section 104: imprisonment up to 6 months or fine up to Rs. 5,000, plus Rs. 100 per day. Section 108: fine up to Rs. 2,000. Section 116(4): fine up to Rs. 5,000. |
Civil penalty up to Rs. 50,000 (Section 103); Rs. 25,000 plus Rs. 500 per day (Section 104); Rs. 10,000 (Section 108); Rs. 25,000 (Section 116(4)). Section 105 and 106(a) become civil penalties. Section 106(b) (wilfully giving false information) stays criminal: imprisonment up to 6 months or fine up to Rs. 25,000, or both. Section 107 omitted. New Section 112A (Secretary of the Marketing Committee as adjudicating officer) and 112B (appeal within 30 days). |
|
6 |
Delhi Water Board Act, 1998 |
Penalty provisions and Fourth Schedule replaced; the earlier amounts are not reproduced in the Gazette. |
The Act revises the framework for civil penalties and compensation for damage to Delhi Jal Board property. A person whose contravention causes damage may be required to pay reasonable compensation in addition to any civil penalty, and unpaid compensation may be recovered as arrears of land revenue. Section 91 and the Fourth Schedule are substituted to specify civil penalties for listed violations, including misuse of domestic water for non-domestic purposes, unauthorised premises/construction-related defaults, wastage or misuse of water, obstruction of inspections and drainage-related contraventions. Repeat contraventions may attract increased penalties, including multiples of the prescribed penalty for subsequent instances. |
|
7 |
Delhi Professional Colleges or Institutions (Prohibition of Capitation Fee, etc.) Act, 2007 |
Section 18: imprisonment up to 3 years, or fine up to Rs. 1 crore, or both. |
Section 18: civil penalty up to Rs. 3 crore. Sections 19 and 20 omitted. References to the Indian Penal Code replaced with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. New Section 18A (adjudicating officer not below Director, Higher Education) and 18B (appeal within 60 days). |
|
8 |
Delhi Diploma Level Technical Education Institutions (Prohibition of Capitation Fee, etc.) Act, 2007 |
Section 18: imprisonment up to 3 years, or fine up to Rs. 1 crore, or both. |
Same changes as in Act No. 7: civil penalty up to Rs. 3 crore ; Sections 19 and 20 omitted; new Sections 18A and 18B. |
Main Features of the Act
- Civil penalties in place of criminal punishment. Imprisonment is removed from most provisions and fines are replaced by civil penalties, which are generally much higher.
- Revision of penalties (Section 3). Fines and civil penalties in the amended provisions increase by ten per cent of the minimum amount after the end of every three years from commencement.
- Adjudication and appeal. Each Act now has an adjudicating officer who can summon persons and documents and can impose a penalty only after giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard. Appeals lie to a senior officer, within 30 or 60 days depending on the Act, with condonation of delay for sufficient cause. Unpaid penalty is recoverable as arrears of land revenue. The procedure is left to rules, which I have not yet checked.
- Criminal law is not fully shut out. Obstruction of officers is to be dealt with under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, false information under Section 106(b) of the APMC Act remains punishable with imprisonment, and Section 92 of the Water Board Act preserves prosecution under other laws.
- Savings (Section 4). Past acts, accrued rights and liabilities, and pending proceedings are not affected, and nothing that had ceased to exist is revived.
- Removal of difficulties (Section 5). The Government may remove difficulties by order within two years of commencement. Every such order is to be laid before the Delhi Legislative Assembly.
To Whom the Act Applies
The Act applies only in the National Capital Territory of Delhi and through the eight Acts above. It covers shops and commercial establishments and their employers, industrial allottees and units in Delhi industrial areas, traders and officials of agricultural produce market committees, bed and breakfast operators, connection holders and consumers of the Delhi Jal Board, electricity licensees and generating companies, and private professional and diploma level institutions.
Conclusion and Impact
Small shopkeepers, MSMEs, industrial allottees, mandi traders and bed and breakfast operators gain the most, because a technical default will not now lead to imprisonment. The Magistrates’ courts in Delhi will also be relieved of petty prosecutions under these Acts.
The money at stake has gone up sharply. For example, the general penalty under the Shops and Establishments Act was Rs. 25 to Rs. 250 and is now Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 25,000, and penalties for private colleges for capitation fee violations have gone from up to Rs. 1 crore (with up to 3 years’ imprisonment) to up to Rs. 3 crore. With the ten per cent revision every three years, the cost of non-compliance will keep rising. In the case of electricity licensees, the minimum penalty under Section 43 is now Rs. 5 lakh, which did not exist earlier.
Enforcement moves from the criminal courts to departmental adjudication. Much will depend on who is appointed as adjudicating officer. In several Acts the adjudicating officer is an officer of the same department that enforces the law, for example the Chief Inspector of Shops and the Secretary of the Marketing Committee, so independence may be questioned. This also means more advisory and appeal work for lawyers, and less criminal defence work.
Because of the savings clause and the retention of some criminal provisions, offences committed before 16 April 2026 and pending prosecutions are not automatically ended. Whether an accused in a pending case can claim the benefit of the lower punishment has to be examined case by case.
