In November 2014, the PMO panel, comprising R Ramanujam (former secretary in the PMO) and V K Bhasin (former secretary in the legislative department), prepared a report on the matter. The two-volume report, put up on the PMO website on Friday, was prepared in two months, after taking into account recent recommendations of the Law Commission.
While some obsolete Acts pointed to by the panel were introduced in 1842, some came into being in 2013.
Of the Acts recommended for repeal, those introduced in the 19th century include the Revenue Bombay Act, the Caste Disabilities Removal Act, the Public Servants Inquiries Act, the Howrah Offences Act, the Foreign Recruiting Act, the Land Acquisitions (Mines) Act, the Government Management of Private Estates Act, the Elephants Preservation Act, the Indian Tramways Act and the Excise (Malt Liquors) Act.
In a report, the Law Commission had recommended the Elephants Preservation Act, 1879, be repealed, as its purpose had been subsumed by the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Similarly, the Indian Tramways Act, 1886, aimed at facilitating the construction and regulating the working of tramways, was now redundant. The Excise (Malt Liquors) Act, 1890, was redundant, as it applied the provisions of the Sea Customs Act, 1878, to malt liquors. “The Sea Customs Act has been repealed by the Customs Act of 1962. Therefore, this Act should also be repealed,” the Law Commission had said.
Of the Acts introduced in the 20th century, those identified as obsolete included the Hindu Inheritance (Removal of Disabilities) Act, 1928; Children Pledging of Labour Act, 1933; the War Injuries (Compensation Insurance) Act, 1943; and the Indian Trade Unions (Amendment) Act 1947. The Law Commission said the provisions of the Children Pledging of Labour Act were not in sync with the provisions of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, and recommended it be repealed, to which the PMO panel agreed. In the case of the Indian Trade Unions (Amendment) Act, 1947, the panel felt its provisions had become obsolete.
While the Drugs (Control) Act, 1950, was enacted to control the sale, supply and distribution of drugs, the Department of Pharmaceuticals, in September last year, said it proposed the Act be repealed, according to the report by the PMO panel.
The sale, supply and distribution of drugs are now controlled under the Essential Commodities Act and, therefore, the Drugs Control Act was identified as obsolete. The case of the Motors Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 1956, was similar, as it had been subsumed under various provisions.
Other Acts identified as obsolete are the Gift Tax Act, 1958, which “has been kept in abeyance and still remains on the statute book”. The Centre should repeal this Act, the panel has said, adding if the need to impose gift tax arises, it could can be by enacting a new law on such a tax. The panel added the Petroleum (Amendment) Act, 1970, didn’t contain any substantive, validating or transitional provisions.
In the case of the National Library of India Act, 1976, covering the administration of the National Library and related affairs, a parliamentary committee had said “the authority, as proposed in the Act, will not be conducive to the efficient functioning of the library”. It was recommended the library continue to function as a subordinate office under the Department of Culture.
More recent Acts that the panel said were redundant included the Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 1981; the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Act, 2000 (partial repeal), the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Act, 2000 (partial repeal); the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Act, 2011 (partial repeal); the National Highways Authority of India (Amendment) Act, 2013 (partial repeal); and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Amendment) Act, 2013 (partial repeal).
Through the past few years, the Law Commission has undertaken a study, titled ‘Legal Enactments: Simplification & Streamlining’, to identify and recommend repeal of laws that have ceased to be relevant. The study has identified various laws inconsistent with new ones or with Supreme Court judgments or with international treaties signed by India, as well as laws whose costs outweigh the benefits.