Bill Introduced In Lok Sabha To Repeal 65 Obsolete Laws Including One Enacted 135 Yrs Ago

The Bill contains three schedules – the First Schedule lists 24 laws enacted between the years 1885 and 2020 which it intends to repeal, the Second Schedule lists 41 Appropriation Acts enacted between the years 2013 and 2017 to be repealed, and the Third Schedule lists 1 Act which shall be amended.

As per the First Schedule, the Bill aims to repeal the Land Acquisition (Mines) Act, 1885, the Sugarcane Act, 1934, the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950, the Metal Corporation of India (Acquisition of Undertaking) Act, 1965 and the Coal Mines (Conservation and Development) Act, 1974, among others.

Out of the 24 laws listed in the First Schedule, 16 laws are amending Acts, which shall stand repealed. This list includes the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2017, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Act, 2018, the Personal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2019, the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Act, 2019 and the Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019, among others.

The Third Schedule intends to remedy a minor drafting error in the Factoring Regulation Act, 2011, where in section 31A (3) of the Act, it intends to substitute the words "that Central Government" with "that Government."

Notably, on December 15, Rijiju had made a written reply to an unstarred question asked by BJP MP Dhananjay Bhimrao Mahadik in Rajya Sabha on the issue of archaic and obsolete laws. Rijiju had then said that:

"Obsolete and archaic laws lay down unnecessary compliance burden on citizens. Therefore, it has been the resolve of this Government to reduce such compliance burden, bring reforms in the legal system and make it more accessible to the common man. In line with this resolve, the Government has repealed 1486 obsolete and redundant Central Acts from May, 2014 till date."

"Besides, 76 Central Acts relating to State subject have also been repealed by the concerned State legislature," Rijiju had then added.