<div><em>Cabinet approves junking of 295 obsolete laws.<strong> Sutanu Guru</strong> lists some weird laws that stayed in statute books</em>.</div><div> </div><div>An action-packed Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared a raft of proposals on July 16, 2015. One decision was to approve the junking of 295 laws that were identified as obsolete. This takes the total number of obsolete laws approved for the junkyard by the Modi government to 945. In addition, the Union Law ministry has identified 1871 more laws that can be junked. This could be a major reform achievement for Prime Minister Modi if the Parliament approves the bills that will allow these laws to be junked. Incidentally, the last time such a similar exercise was undertaken on a large scale was in 2001 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister. </div><div> </div><div>Look at some of these laws and wonder why they are still around!</div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Dramatic Performances Act, Act 19 of 1876</strong></span></div><div>Contrary to what some historians say, resistance to the British rule was always there. One popular way to express this resistance was through popular modes of entertainment like theatre, drama, folk dances and public recitals of scriptures. The British were aware of this and this law was created specifically to suppress these gestures of defiance against the Empire. But the funny thing is that this 140 year old law is stillMarlins and can be misused by the police to harass ordinary citizens. For example, under this law, the police can arrest you if more than 10 people are dancing in public. Talk of crazy, stupid laws! </div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Sonthal Parganas Act, Act 37 of 1855</strong></span></div><div>The Act was enacted to remove, from the operation of the general laws and regulations, certain districts inhabited by persons belonging to the Sonthal tribe. The Preamble to the Act states that ‘the general Regulations and Acts of Government now in force in the Presidency of Bengal are not adapted to the "uncivilized race of people called Sonthals". The Act cites this as the reason for removing from the operation of such laws the district inhabited by this tribe. The Act employs language to describe the tribal population that has no place in the modern era. The language of the Act runs contrary to the spirit of the Constitution. As history students know, the tribal people of India were the first to revolt against the oppressive rule of the British who then created laws to create "criminal" tribes. Nobody knows why this absurd law of 1855 is still around.</div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Converts’ Marriage Dissolution Act, Act 21 of 1866</strong></span></div><div>This Act was enacted to allow the dissolution of marriages of converts from Hinduism to Christianity, on the grounds that they have been deserted or repudiated on religious grounds by spouse. It enables divorce proceedings to be initiated by the converted person, not his or her spouse. The scope of the Act was first considered in the 18th Law Commission Report (1960) which recommended repeal of the Act because of its limited scope. The continuance of this Act should be considered in light of the fact that the Supreme Court in Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India [AIR 1995 SC 1531] has said that allowing dissolution of marriage under the laws of the converted person is tantamount to destroying the existing rights of the other spouse who continues to belong to the same religion. In simple English, this law was designed and created to persecute Hindus and unduly favour Christians. Missionaries could encourage one spouse to convert and the other would automatically be divorced if she or he also did not convert. It is laws like this that show how part of the British Empire intention was to spread Christianity. Quite strange, but the law has not yet been repealed.</div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Sarais Act, Act 22 of 1867</strong></span></div><div>The Act empowers the District Magistrate to regulate public sarais. It includes provisions related to registration, character certificate, and other related activities. This law allowed local authorities and policemen to keep a check on Sarais and dharamshalas and ensure that they did not indulge in illegal activities. The world has changed drastically since 1867 and what were Sarais then are now modern hotels, lodges, guest houses and speciality restaurants. Anybody who is involved in the hotel business know that local police often misuse this law to harass honeymooners for bribes. But the law is yet to be repealed. </div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Hindu Inheritance (Removal of Disabilities) Act, Act 12 of 1928</strong></span></div><div>This was one example of how the British kept India divided by creating different laws based on religion or ethnic background. Under this law, all Hindu descendants were entitled to inherit property and no one could deny them this right. But a proviso was added in this law. Hindu children did not enjoy the rights of inheritance if they were "idiots" or "lunatic". It is crazy, but this law has not been repealed though inheritance laws have changed after independence.</div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Resettlement of Displaced Persons (Land Acquisition) Act, Act 60 of 1948</strong></span></div><div>This Act was designed and created specifically to deal with the millions of refugees, mostly Sikhs and Hindus who became refugees after the Partition in 1947. In most cases, the refugees were forced to leave behind everything in Pakistan controlled Punjab and come to India penniless. Millions of them were resettled in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and other parts of India thanks to this law. But it has been 68 years since Partition and nobody knows why this law still exists on paper. </div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Sugar (Regulation of Production) Act, Act 55 of 1961</strong></span></div><div>For decades after independence, India was marked by shortages of everything. In response The government of Jawharlal Nehru tried socialism and controls over business as the solution. All governments since 1947 have been worried about sugar because it is a politically explosive thing. This particular law have powers to government babus to decide which sugar factory could produce how much sugar. All restrictions on the sugar industry have since been lifted. But this law has not been repealed and any government can still harass sugar companies by using this law. </div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Chandigarh Disturbed Areas Act, Act 33 of 1983</strong></span></div><div>This law was designed and created to deal with militancy and terrorism in Punjab where security forces were given special powers for the Union Territory of Chandigarh. These powers, even if they were required during the bad days of terrorism, were oppressive and imposed on the basic freedom of citizens of Punjab and Haryana. In 2012, the Punjab and Haryana High Court declared that Chandigarh is no longer a "disturbed" area. But the law has not been repealed. </div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Post Office Cash Certificates Act, Act 18 of 1917</strong></span></div><div>The Act restricted the transfer of post office 5-year cash certificates and provided for the payment of certificates standing in the name of deceased persons. The Second Edition of the Post Office Savings Bank Manual (corrected up to 31st December 2006) specifies that 5-year post office cash certificates were discontinued from 14th June 1947. Consequently, this Act is now redundant. But nobody has bothered to repeal this meaningless law that has been around for almost 100 years. </div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, Act 20 of 1938</strong></span></div><div>The Act provided for punishment of certain acts prejudicial to the recruitment of persons to serve in the Armed Forces of the Union. This Act was enacted to punish persons who made public speeches to dissuade persons from enlisting in the Defence Forces and from taking part in any war in which the British Empire would be engaged. The punishment prescribed for such an act was imprisonment for a term extending to 1 year, or fine, or both. This Act was meant to serve the needs of the British Empire and is now redundant. There is no evidence of recent use of this Act. But almost 70 years after the British left, the laws till remains.</div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Indian Matrimonial Causes (War Marriages) Act, Act 40 of 1948</strong></span></div><div>The Act conferred upon courts temporary jurisdiction in certain matrimonial cases. It applies to marriages solemnized during the ‘war period’ where the husband was, at the time of the marriage, domiciled outside India and the wife was immediately before the marriage, domiciled in India. ‘War period’ was defined under the Act as the period commencing on 3rd September 1939 and ending on 31st March 1946. The Act conferred jurisdiction on the High Court to entertain proceedings for divorce or for nullity of marriage. This law was meant for The Second World War that was over in 1945. Nobody knows why this law is still round. </div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Delhi and Ajmer Rent Control Act, Act 38 of 1952</strong></span></div><div>The Act provided for the control of rents and evictions, and for the lease of vacant premises to the Government, in certain areas of Delhi and Ajmer. The Act was repealed in its application to Delhi by the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958. The rent control law applicable to Ajmer is the Rajasthan Rent Control Act, 2001. There is no evidence of recent use of this Act and it is now redundant. Therefore, the Central Government should write to the concerned State Government recommending the review of this law by the State, with a view to repeal. What is the law still doing in the Statute books. </div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Compulsory Deposit Scheme Act, Act 21 of 1963</strong></span></div><div>The Act made it compulsory for all categories of persons, as mentioned in Section 2 of the Act, to make certain deposits. According to Section 2, the Act was meant to be applicable to five different categories of persons viz., persons liable to payment of land revenue; persons liable to payment of tax under the Income-Tax Act, 1961; holders of immovable properties situated in urban areas assessed to tax; employees of the Government and local authorities, and dealers whose annual turnover is Rs. 15,000 or more and who are not liable to payment of income tax under the Income-Tax Act, 1961. This was a typical socialist era law where The State forced citizens to do things even if it was against the spirit of the Constitution. The government simply failed to enforce this law because it was impractical to begin with. The Act has gradually fallen into disuse because of the discontinuance of various sub-schemes. The sub-schemes which were to be implemented through the State Governments and local authorities concerned were dropped owing to considerable practical difficulties. How can you force an individual or a family to save money against their wishes. But inexplicably, the law has not yet been repealed. </div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Coking Coal Mines (Emergency Provisions) Act, Act 64 of 1971</strong></span></div><div>The Act provided for the taking over, in public interest, of the management of coking coal mines and coke oven plants, pending nationalisation of such mines and plants. It enabled the taking over of private coking companies pending nationalisation. The Coking Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act was enacted in 1972. Consequently, the Coking Coal Mines (Emergency Provisions) Act, 1971 is now redundant. In fact, as the now controversial scam shows, the era of nationalization of coal mines is over and the private sector is once again involved in coal mining. Nobody knows why this 1971 law that is meaningless now has not been repealed..</div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Disputed Elections (Prime Minister and Speaker) Act, Act 16 of 1977</strong></span></div><div>This law is a classic case of seemingly democratic leaders behaving like absolute monarchs. It was enacted when the late Indira Gandhi had imposed Emergency in India and jailed all opposition leaders. According to this law, only a single judge bench of the Supreme Court could conduct the trial if someone challenges the election of the Prime Minister or the Lok Sabha speaker. No other court in India can do that. Why this law? In 1975, the Allahabad High Court had declared the 1971 Lok Sabha victory of Indira as null and void because of electoral malpractice. No Prime Minister after her has tried to so brazenly to create new laws to suit one individual. Yet, the law is yet to be repealed.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div>
