Parliament approves Bill to scrap 58 archaic laws

Parliament on Friday passed a bill to repeal 58 old central laws which the government said has been done to achieve maximum governance.

The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2019 was passed by the Rajya Sabha through voice vote. It was passed by the Lok Sabha on July 29.

Moving the bill in the Upper House, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said after the BJP-led government came to power, it decided to get rid of redundant and absolute laws. A committee has identified 1,824 old laws.

So far, 1,428 old and archaic central Acts have been repealed and about 75 laws —which the Centre drafted for states in view of the President rule—have also been repealed till date, he said.

The current bill aims to repeal 58 old central laws, which have become "irrelevant". This is being done to ensure minimum legislation and maximum governance, Prasad said, adding that repealing of old laws is a continuous process.

On Telangana Rasthra Samithi (TRS) member K Keshava Rao's concern over repealing of a 2015 law related to Andhra Pradesh's legislative council seats, the Minister said the interest of the state has been protected and the same has been embedded in the main Act.

On a suggestion to repeal The Cinematograph Act, 1952, the Minister said he agrees with the view as a former Information and Broadcasting minister. However, "the film community should have one voice on this. There is great difference." Prasad assured the members a mechanism is in place to review old laws periodically and that will be further strengthened.

Participating in the debate, members cutting across party lines, supported the bill saying it is a good step but that the government should sensitise about these laws to the people.

Samajwadi Party member Jaya Bachchan called for creating awareness about repealed laws among people.

"How are you going to communicate with people like me who are not aware of technical things. Otherwise there would be chaos," she said.

Prashant Nanda (BJD) expressed concern that rules are not made for long after legislation have been passed.

Subhashish Chakraborty (AITC), Bhupendra Yadav (BJP), Amee Yajnik (Cong), A Navaneethakrishnana (AIADMK), Prashant Nanda (BJD), Kahkashan Perween (JD-U), K Somaprasad (CPI-M), Binay Visham (CPI), Veer Singh and Ram Kumar Verma from BJP participated in the debate.