Repeal obsolete laws that cause hardship to people: Par panel

A parliamentary committee today recommended repeal of obsolete laws that cause hardship to people and suggested that 'sunset' clause be incorporated in certain Acts so that they are out of the statute book after their purpose is served.
The Standing Committee on Law and Justice, while examining The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2014, said the government should endeavour towards making the laws simple while reviewing the existing enactments on the statute book.
The bill seeks to remove 36 Amendment Acts and Principals Acts from the statute book as they have outlived their utility.
"The Committee notes that out of the 36 Acts proposed for repeal, as many as 32 are Amending Acts, repeal of which does not affect the continuance in force of the amendments which have already become part and parcel of the parent Acts.

"These 32 Amending Acts, though dead, have continued to remain on the statute book in absence of their formal repeal and thus unnecessarily congesting the statute book. The repeal of such Amending Acts does not reduce the plethora of applicable law in any way and therefore their repeal is not on the same footing as repeal of a law, that though obsolete, has been a cause of unnecessary hardship to the people," the committee said in its report tabled in Parliament.
It said the government should lay more emphasis on identifying such laws and take early steps for identification and repeal of such laws to provide relief to people from obsolete and archaic laws.