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A Licence to Punish: How 7,300 'Crimes' Make Criminals of Us All
India’s legal system is a bloated relic of its colonial past. It uses criminal law not as a scalpel for great harm, but as a sledgehammer to govern daily life. A landmark report from the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy reveals how this threatens every citizen’s liberty and the nation’s economy.
A new study by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, titled ‘The State of the System,’ found they are actual crimes, buried in India’s tangled laws. The report reveals a state that inherited its colonial predecessor’s instinct to control and command. For many, the law is now a source of fear, not a guarantee of freedom.
The report found 7,305 separate crimes in India’s central laws. These are spread across 370 statutes, meaning nearly half (42%) of all national laws carry criminal penalties. This article was published in The Wire on November 17, 2025.