Dated legislations hamper work, cause mirth
If there is anything worse than a law which cannot be implemented in practice, it is a law that has outlived its purpose. Some of these laws are not only laughable by their very existence but are also a source for petty litigants to harass people and burden the already creaking judicial system. Besides, they hinder prompt and effective governance, something which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly laid stress on. These legislations should have disappeared yesterday. Unfortunately, for close to the last decade-and-half, the country's political executive did not give the issue the attention it deserved. Happily, and finally, things appear to be moving now, with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance Government taking a serious re-look and deciding to knock off the dated provisions from the statute books. last month, the Government set up a panel to identify legislations that must be repealed, and directed it to submit its report in three months' time. It is expected that, armed with the suggestions, the Centre will be equipped by the time Parliament meets for the Winter Session, to move for the repeal and /or amendments. Meanwhile, the law Commission of India has recommended the abolition of 72 obsolete laws. Union Minister for law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad has expressed his Government's resolve to move at a fast pace, and the steps that the regime has taken so far are in the right direction. It must be remembered that the first real initiative in recent memory to tackle dated legislations had been taken by the Union Government back in 1998, when it established the Commission on Review of Administrative law. The commission had recommended the repeal of 1,382 Central laws. Of these, 415 were repealed. This means that a lot more is left to be done. Mr Prasad will do well to build on that foundation. While the Minister had in the last Parliament session tabled a Bill for the repeal of 36 laws, he will need to give further momentum to the task. Past experience shows that while intent is never in doubt, it's the execution that, for whatever reasons, falls short of expectation. There are many hindrances to the repeal of an Act. A March 2002 Government statement on the progress in the abolition of dated legislation reveals that out of the 1,382 laws recommended for repeal, “700 Acts pertain to Appropriation Acts, 114 Central Acts relate to State subjects, 166 Central Acts include 11 Pre-Nationalisation Acts and 20 Validation Acts, 11 relate to British Statutes still in force, 17 relate to War-time Permanent Ordinances, 35 to Reorganisation Acts, 12 to laws applicable to High Courts and 12 to Personal laws”. Clearly, all stakeholders need to come on board.
Still, there are several legislations that are bereft of such consideration, and yet they have flourished for decades simply because nobody bothered to strike them out from the books. They continue to hurt society, media and the country's economy. And when they don't cause direct damage, they exist for the sake of providing hilarity. For instance, under an 80-year old law, one can reportedly be jailed for flying a kite without having a licence to do so! According to another report, you can be disqualified in Andhra Pradesh for the post of a motor vehicle inspector if your teeth are found to be inadequately brushed!