The criminal justice system of India has been struggling for years with the problem of an overly criminalised structure, which is a legacy of the colonial-era legal system and was further worsened over decades by the excessive inclusion of penal provisions in regulatory laws without much reflection. This article seeks to consider the decriminalisation of minor offenses in India not just as an option, but as a constitutional, humanitarian, and institutional need. In particular, the excessive criminalisation of minor offenses imposes a great deal of undue suffering on the marginalised segments of Indian society, which consist of young people, the poor, and religious minorities, along with communities from the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes of India. Based on data provided by the National Crime Records Bureau about prisons in India, recent changes introduced through the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act 2023 and subsequent Acts of 2025 and 2026, innovative elements of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, and major judgments such as those in Joseph Shine v. Union of India (2018) and Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India (2018), this study analyses the various aspects of the decriminalisation controversy, its benefits, and its drawbacks. This is a critical examination of the argument that decriminalisation without adequate administrative infrastructure leads to deterrence vacuums. It argues that effective reform not only calls for stripping criminalisation statutes of incarceration provisions but also building adequate alternatives to fill this space. The article concludes with a framework for ethical decriminalisation.