In India, daily life is increasingly governed by criminal laws, many of which criminalize actions that seem trivial or absurd. From not walking your dog enough to tethering a goat on a public street, these laws range from the mundane to the serious, creating a legal environment that some experts describe as a “crisis of over-criminalization.”
A new report from the Delhi-based Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy sheds light on this issue, presenting a comprehensive database of criminal laws in India. With over 370 federal laws containing criminal provisions, these laws criminalize 7,305 acts, many of which are tied to ordinary daily tasks.
For example, dog owners in India can face fines of up to 100 rupees or even jail time for failing to exercise their dogs. Likewise, other seemingly innocent actions—like disturbing animals in a zoo, flying a kite in a way that causes alarm, or applying for a driver’s license after being banned—can carry legal consequences.
The report highlights how laws that were meant to address significant issues now cover a wide range of trivial matters. Over 250 offences penalize delays in filing documents, while 124 crimes across 80 laws criminalize the obstruction of public officers, even when the term “obstruction” is not clearly defined.
Ironically, the penalties for these everyday crimes can sometimes be more severe than those for more serious offences. For example, falsely reporting a birth or death for official records can result in three years of imprisonment, while rioting—defined as the use of force or violence by an unlawful assembly—can lead to only two years in jail.
This extensive reliance on criminal law not only disrupts the lives of ordinary citizens but also places a heavy burden on the country’s legal and law enforcement systems. Over 34 million criminal cases are currently pending in India’s courts, with many cases stuck for more than a year. Prisons are overcrowded, and police forces are understaffed.
In response to these issues, authorities plan to scrap criminal penalties in more than 100 legal provisions, following the removal of 180 such provisions in 2023. This move is seen as part of a broader effort to reduce the over-reliance on criminal law and rethink how the legal system interacts with citizens, aiming for less fear and more trust.
Ultimately, this report serves as a reminder that not all laws are created equal, and some are in desperate need of reevaluation to prevent the criminalization of everyday life.