# Jan Vishwas Act flat fines face constitutional equality test 2026-08-09T06:11:21+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Livelaw.in reports that the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026, passed by Parliament on 2 April, replaces jail time with flat fines across 784 provisions in 79 central laws. The analysis argues this penalty design may violate Article 14 of the Constitution by treating small kirana stores and large supermarket chains identically. A second offence under the Legal Metrology Act, for example, draws a fixed fine regardless of the offender's turnover. Existing laws such as the Trade Marks Act and Patents Act already peg penalties to 0.5 per cent of turnover, capped at Rs 5 lakh. No constitutional challenge has been mounted yet, but the outlet notes that high litigation costs deter small businesses. The design creates a structural incentive for large corporates to treat fines as a routine business expense, it warns. ## Coverage - livelaw.in Tags: Article 14, constitutional law, decriminalisation, ease of business, flat fines, Jan Vishwas Act Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/jan-vishwas-act-flat-fines-face-constitutional-equality-test/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/jan-vishwas-act-flat-fines-face-constitutional-equality-test/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.