The Lok Sabha has taken a significant step towards legal simplification by passing a new bill aimed at removing dozens of archaic laws from the statute books. On December 17, during the ongoing winter session of Parliament, the lower house approved The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2025.
What the Bill Aims to Achieve
The primary objective of the legislation is to repeal a total of 71 laws that have been identified as obsolete and no longer relevant. In addition to this clean-up, the bill also proposes amendments to four existing Acts. These include the General Clauses Act of 1897, the Code of Civil Procedure from 1908, the Indian Succession Act of 1925, and the Disaster Management Act of 2005.
Former Law Secretary P K Malhotra, who served in the Ministry of Law and Justice, welcomed the parliamentary move. In an exclusive conversation, he stated that the statutes being removed had effectively "outlived their utility." He was quick to clarify a common public concern, emphasizing that the repeal will have no impact on ongoing litigation. Cases already registered or pending in courts will continue to be governed by the law as it existed at the time the alleged violation occurred.
A Historical and Ongoing Process
Malhotra provided historical context, noting that the exercise of repealing outdated laws is not new. The first such effort dates back to 1952, shortly after independence, when about eight pre-independence laws were scrapped and forty others were amended. However, he pointed out that no fixed timeframe was traditionally followed for these reviews.
The process gained renewed momentum after 2014. The NDA government, upon coming to power, repealed over 1,500 obsolete laws. This massive clean-up served a dual purpose: it reduced the clutter in legal statute books and, crucially, prevented the unnecessary harassment of citizens by law enforcement agencies using laws that had lost all contemporary relevance.
When asked if India needs a permanent institutional body, like a 'Law Revision Committee', to review laws every decade, Malhotra disagreed. He asserted that the existing Law Commission of India (LCI) is adequately mandated for this task. As an alternative, he suggested that future legislation could incorporate "sunset clauses," which would mandate parliamentary review after a fixed period, failing which the law would automatically expire.
Corrections and Substantive Changes
The bill also seeks to rectify a minor error in the Disaster Management Act, 2005, by replacing the word 'prevention' with 'preparation'. Distinguishing between a simple correction and a substantive change, Malhotra explained that typographical errors are usually fixed via a corrigendum. However, substituting words that could affect the rights or obligations of individuals requires formal parliamentary approval through an amending act, as is the case here.
Regarding the amendment to the Indian Succession Act, which touches on procedural requirements, Malhotra clarified that such procedural tweaks through repealing and amending acts have been standard practice since the Constitution came into force. He did not see it as a "testing ground" for broader personal law reforms but rather a continuation of established legislative housekeeping.
A counter viewpoint was presented by Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra. He argued that the celebration over repealing mostly amending laws was misplaced, as their removal requires little effort and has zero impact on citizens' lives. The real challenge, according to him, lies in repealing or replacing old, substantive laws that actively govern public life.
The bill's passage marks another phase in the continuous effort to modernize India's legal framework, ensuring it remains responsive to the social and economic needs of a rapidly changing nation.
