Parliament passes Bill to repeal 58 obsolete laws

The Parliament on Friday approved the Repealing and Amending Bill, 2019 that repeals 58 obsolete and irrelevant laws with the Rajya Sabha passing it by voice vote.

Replying to the debate on the Repealing and Amending Bill, 2019, Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad stressed on the need for periodic review and scrutinise laws which serve no purpose in the country. He said a periodic review of old laws must be the part of governance.

"Continuation of such laws affect the ease of doing business, ease of living and ease of governance. These Bills can be scrapped," he said thanking the members for supporting the bill.

The bill to repeal the archaic laws has already been passed by the Lok Sabha.

He said when the NDA government came to power in 2014, it started identifying obsolete laws and it has so far repealed 1428 such laws. He said the process would continue to repeal more such laws.

"I would urge the House that this is the initiative in the right direction. I would urge this House and through this House the entire country and state governments that periodic review of obsolete and irrelevant laws must become a part of good governance," he said.

The government had earlier set up a committee which identified these bills to be repealed.

The bill seeks to repeal certain enactments and to amend certain other enactments. It provides for repealing fifty-eight old Laws including the Beedi Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1976, and the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2001 which have no relevance today.

Besides it also seeks to make minor amendments to the Income Tax Act, 1961 and the India Institutes of Management Act, 2017.

Participating in the debate, members cutting across party lines, supported the bill saying it was a good step.