Company Act overhaul: Experts call for careful, balanced approach

A company director facing imprisonment for his income declaration falling short by a couple of thousand rupees might sound bizarre but until recently this had high probability.

Company law recently went through an overhaul, decriminalising more than 48 offences in one go, removing the prison sentence, and doing away with or reducing the fines.

Decriminalising these provisions has been done with good reason. These have choked the justice system and made it difficult to do business and attract investment.

However, there is also a concern if the pendulum has moved too far and as India revisits criminal punishment under various economic laws, experts