New Delhi, April 12 -- With the introduction of the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill of 2026 (JV2), India's government has made one thing unmistakably clear: the decriminalization of various actions covered by the country's statute book is not a one-time gesture, but a sustained and serious programme of reform.

Covering 79 Central Acts in a single sweep, the JV2 Bill follows the Jan Vishwas Act of 2023 and picks up where the Select Committee-examined 2025 bill left off.

The ambition behind this exercise deserves recognition on its own terms. Each line of amendment in a bill like this represents months of painstaking inter-ministerial deliberation, legal review and political negotiation.

Changing even a single provision in a d...