Haryana’s bold step on restorative reform in jails

HARYANA’s notification of the Community Service Guidelines, 2025 marks a decisive turn in the criminal justice landscape — a shift from retribution to restoration. At a time when prisons operate at 131 per cent occupancy, with undertrials making up nearly 76 per cent of the inmates (2022 data), the state’s initiative provides a much-needed alternative to incarceration for first-time, low-risk offenders. Rooted in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the framework empowers judges to assign structured service instead of jail time. The scope is wide yet purposeful: maintaining parks, assisting in hospitals, supporting anganwadis, conserving heritage sites or contributing to national missions such as Swachh Bharat and Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao. The guidelines even tailor roles for juveniles — such as NCC training or environmental projects — and for women, who may serve in “safe spaces”, like maternity wards or childcare centres.

What distinguishes the Haryana model from similar initiatives, such as Delhi’s policy prescribing 40–240 hours of service, is its operational detail. Biometric attendance, geo-tagged photographs, video proof and progress reporting ensure verifiability. Chandigarh’s recent sentencing of public drinkers to serve in gaushalas and old-age homes and a Jammu court’s order compelling offenders to clean a health centre and park show how community service can reshape behaviour while benefiting society.

For the reform to work, three guardrails are essential. First, serious or repeat offenders must be excluded. Second, monitoring must be robust, with audits and swift sanctions for default. Third, outcomes must be measured: whether offenders complete tasks, victims feel redress and repetition of offence is reduced. Haryana’s blueprint turns minor wrongdoing into an opportunity to repay a social debt, reduces the collateral damage of incarceration and fosters civic responsibility. If scaled prudently and monitored rigorously, it could become a model of restorative justice for the nation.

Editorials