Monsoon Session: Lok Sabha Nods To Repeal 76 Outmoded Laws To Streamline Legal System

The Lok Sabha has approved a bill to repeal 76 outdated and unnecessary laws, in a step that the government thinks is crucial in their ongoing efforts to enhance the ease of living and doing business.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government has already repealed 1,486 laws.

If the current bill receives approval from parliament, the total number of laws removed from the statute books will rise to 1,562, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said while presenting the bill for consideration.

In December of last year, the government introduced the Repealing and Amending Bill, which aimed to eliminate 65 outdated laws. However, due to various reasons, the bill was not discussed in subsequent sessions.

Meghwal has proposed an official amendment to include 11 additional bills in the list, making the total number of laws to be repealed 76.

The 11 laws added through the amendment are laws from the colonial era, according to the minister.

The minister took a dig at the previous UPA government, noting that they did not repeal a single law that is no longer necessary in the current scenario.

This bill aims to repeal enactments that are no longer in force, obsolete, or unnecessary to be maintained as separate Acts. It is a periodic measure taken to eliminate such laws.

In addition, these bills are designed to rectify any flaws or shortcomings identified in existing legislation.

The bill suggests the repeal of the Land Acquisition (Mines) Act of 1885.

Furthermore, it proposes the repeal of the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act of 1950. This law states that anyone found or proven to be in possession of telegraph wires without lawful justification can be punished with imprisonment for up to five years or a fine.

The bill also aims to repeal certain Appropriation Acts, recently passed by Parliament.

Once the main Act is amended, the amendment laws become irrelevant. They no longer need to exist as separate laws in the statute books and only serve to clutter the system.

The Factoring Regulation Act, 2011 will undergo an amendment as stated in the third schedule of the bill. In section 31A, sub-section (3), the words "that Central Government" will be replaced with the words "that Government".