This week in Indian law: The Supreme Court quashed the expulsion of a member from a State Legislative Council as disproportionate, applying proportionality principles to legislative privilege disputes. The government advanced its Jan Vishwas 2.0 decriminalisation initiative targeting 100+ business law provisions. Parliament entered recess for Standing Committee review. 4 significant legal developments this week across constitutional rights and legislative policy.
Top story
SC Quashes MLC Expulsion as Disproportionate Punishment
Category: constitutional-rights | Date: 25 February 2025 | Source: Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court in Sunil Kumar Singh quashed the expulsion of a member from a State Legislative Council, holding that the punishment of expulsion was grossly disproportionate to the alleged misconduct. The Court applied the proportionality doctrine — a constitutional principle requiring that punitive measures be commensurate with the offence — to the domain of legislative privilege disputes, which have traditionally been considered matters of internal parliamentary regulation.
Why it matters: This ruling extends the application of proportionality review to legislative privilege decisions, establishing that courts can examine whether the quantum of punishment imposed by a legislature on its own members is constitutionally proportionate. Legislators and presiding officers must now consider proportionality when imposing disciplinary sanctions.
Read more: Veritect analysis
Legislative and policy developments
Jan Vishwas 2.0: Government to Decriminalise 100+ Business Laws
Date: February 2025 | Source: PIB
The government announced the Jan Vishwas 2.0 initiative, building on the original Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023. The second phase proposes to decriminalise more than 100 provisions across various business and compliance statutes, replacing criminal penalties — including imprisonment — with civil penalties, compounding provisions, and administrative sanctions. The initiative aims to reduce the compliance burden on businesses and improve India's ease of doing business ranking.
Key point: Businesses and compliance officers should monitor the list of provisions being decriminalised — the shift from criminal to civil penalties fundamentally changes the risk profile of regulatory non-compliance.
Also this week
- Budget session recess — Parliament entered recess for Standing Committee review of Demands for Grants, with the session expected to reconvene in early March.
- Income-Tax Bill review continues — The Select Committee continued examining the Income-Tax Bill, 2025 during the recess period.
By the numbers
- 100+ — Business law provisions targeted for decriminalisation under Jan Vishwas 2.0
- 2 — Constitutional principles applied by SC in MLC expulsion case (proportionality and fundamental rights)
- March 10 — Expected date for Parliament to reconvene after recess
Looking ahead
- March: Parliament to reconvene for passage of Demands for Grants and Finance Bill
- March: SEBI expected to issue ESG disclosure and rights issue reform circulars
- March: SC to hear Lokpal jurisdiction matter regarding High Court judges
This is the Veritect Weekly Legal Roundup for Week 9 of 2025. For daily updates, visit our legal news page. Subscribe to receive this roundup every Monday morning.
Veritect provides this content for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.