Clean streets, restore parks, bind books: Delhi rolls out community service for minor offenders
From jail time to public work: What's changing
Clean and maintain hospital wards and surrounding areas
Weed roadsides and medians
Sweep and tidy up public parks and open spaces
Arrange and bind books in public libraries
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What kind of crimes will be covered?
Attempted suicide to influence official decisions (BNS Section 226)
Unauthorised trading by public servants (BNS Section 202)
Non-appearance in court despite a public notice (BNS Section 209)
First-time theft under ₹5,000 (BNS Section 303(2))
Causing public disturbance while drunk (BNS Section 355)
Defamation (BNS Section 356(2))
Formal recognition, long overdue
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Minor offenders in Delhi may soon find themselves cleaning hospital wards, tending to public parks or shelving books in libraries. These are among 12 newly listed community service tasks that courts can assign as punishment under the city's latest legal directive.The Delhi government 's home department, in a recent gazette notification, officially outlined these services as part of a new, reform-oriented sentencing approach. It's designed for those convicted of low-level crimes—like public drunkenness or petty theft—and is part of a broader legal shift under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), both taking effect from July 2024.The tasks, while simple, serve a dual purpose: they benefit society and offer an opportunity for rehabilitation. Offenders may now be directed to:The department's notification states these guidelines were issued by the High Court of Judicature. But it also clarified that judges are not restricted by this list. 'They are not intended to curtail the discretion of the court in awarding any other mode of community service under Section 4(f) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023,' the gazette said.Durations for community service will vary, with courts allowed to impose between one day and 31 days of work, or between 40 to 240 hours depending on the offence and the individual case.According to officials, the community service provision will apply to a list of minor offences. These include:Punishments for these offences previously included imprisonment or fines—or both. Now, courts may choose community service instead.Senior advocate Amit Chadha clarified the scope of this discretion: 'The presiding judge maintains complete discretion in determining whether an accused person qualifies for community service,' he said. Under Section 4(f), a second-class magistrate can impose a sentence of up to one year in jail, a fine up to ₹10,000, or assign community service.This may be the first time community service is codified in Indian criminal law for adults, but the idea itself isn't new.Advocate Lokesh Ahlawat of the Delhi High Court explained that although the earlier Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, did not explicitly recognise community service, some judges already used it creatively. 'Despite this absence, the Indian Judiciary, guided by the principles of reformative justice system, has in cases innovatively imposed community service as punishment,' he said. 'Earlier, only Section 18 of the JJ Act, 2015, defined community service as punishment.'His views were echoed by advocate Manoj D Taneja, who said, 'The new codes formalise this practice and incorporate community service as a penalty for minor infractions.'This new approach could benefit the public directly. Clean hospitals, better-kept parks, organised libraries—these are tangible gains. And for offenders, it opens a door to correct mistakes without losing months or years in prison.Rather than spend time behind bars or pay a steep fine, an individual may now be given a broom, a trowel or a stack of books. The message is clear: take responsibility, contribute, move forward.By putting hands to work instead of locking people away, the system may just be stepping towards a more grounded and useful form of justice—one community service shift at a time.(With inputs from TOI)
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