Appropriation Acts to get automatically repealed, says law minister

From next year, all Appropriation Acts beginning 2016 will get automatically repealed, clearing the statute books of redundant legislations.

Replying to a debate on a Bill which seeks to repeal 758 old appropriation acts, Law Minister Sadananda Gowda on Monday said the government would follow the model prevalent in the United Kingdom for dealing with them.

Winding up the debate on The Appropriation Acts (Repeal) Bill, 2015, to repeal 758 Appropriation Acts which have lost relevance, Gowda said from 2016 onwards the automatic repeal clause would be there.

The Lok Sabha later passed the Bill by a voice vote.

A large number of Appropriation Acts passed in the past several years have lost their meaning but these are still shown on statue books. Appropriation Acts are intended to operate for a limited period of time - authorising expenditures for the duration of one financial year.

Though these Acts are not usually included in any list of Central Acts, either by the Law Ministry, or elsewhere, these laws still technically remain in the books.

"The Standing Committee, the Law Commission and legal community came to a conclusion that the UK model is the right model (for repealing of law) and that will come into force in future," Gowda added.

The Bill also provides repeal of 111 State Appropriation Acts enacted by Parliament between 1950 and 1976. These Acts provide budgetary support to states and were enacted when the states were under President's Rule.

After 1976, the right to repeal such Appropriation Acts was given to states.

The bill is also in consonance with the recommendations of the Select Committee of Rajya Sabha to have a repeal clause in the Appropriation Acts.

The Legislative Department of the Law Ministry had also proposed that the repeal mechanism in vogue in the United Kingdom to systematically repeal Appropriation Acts usually two sessions in arrears may be followed.

Lok Sabha had in March passed a bill to repeal 35 archaic Acts.