Chandigarh, Aug. 18 -- The Haryana government has introduced community service guidelines, 2025, aimed at replacing jail terms for certain first-time offenders with structured and socially useful work.

Sumita Misra, additional chief secretary (ACS), home and administration of justice, said this reform, anchored in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, reflects a shift from retribution to rehabilitation, a philosophy increasingly embraced by progressive legal systems across the globe.

Misra, who was instrumental in drafting the guidelines, described them as a framework where justice restores as much as it corrects. "The intent is not to diminish the seriousness of offences but to harness them as moments of transformation. Every offence leaves a s...