The Law Listicles : Nine ridiculous laws the Law Commission thinks should be repealed

The Law Commission of India, headed by Chairman Justice A.P. Shah, had recently published its First (248th) and Second (249th) Interim Reports on recommendations to repeal certain obsolete statutes..These laws have been recommended for repeal because they fall into one or more of the following categories – first, the subject matter of the law in question is outdated; second, the purpose of the law in question has been fulfilled and third, there is a newer law or regulation governing the same subject matter..The Law Commission identified 261 statutes that can be repealed under the above mentioned parameters..Given below are nine of the most redundant laws from that list:.1. The Children (Pledging of Labour) Act of 1933 [Full text].We begin with a case of good intentions gone wrong. This Act was enacted to prohibit the pledging of child labour. However, the purpose of the Act is defeated by the proviso to the definition of ‘agreement’ under section 2. The proviso essentially permits the pledging of child labour as long as adequate wages are paid for the benefit of the child. Moreover, the Act could potentially contradict proposed amendments to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, which seeks to outlaw all forms of child labour..2. Delhi Hotels (Control of Accommodation) Act of 1949 [Full text].This Act grants the Director of Estates the power to reserve up to one-fourth of the total accommodation available in certain private hotels in Delhi for use by government officials. The Act was brought into force for the purpose of addressing the issue of accommodation shortage for government officials in Delhi. However, this issue is no longer alive as India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) hotels and State guest houses can be used for making arrangements for the accommodation of government officials in transit. Currently, the Delhi Hotels (Control of Accommodation) Repeal Bill, 2014 is pending in the Rajya Sabha at present, and should be passed..3. Indian Independence Pakistan Courts (Pending Proceedings) Act of 1952 [Full text].This Act was enacted to render ineffective certain decrees passed by courts in Pakistan, and to provide an alternative remedy to persons who had secured such decrees or orders. Essentially, this Act allowed decree holders to institute fresh proceedings in an Indian court, catering to the temporary situation following the partition of India..4. Tamil Nadu Compulsory Labour Act of 1858 [Full text].The Act made it lawful to “compel labourers to prevent and repair any mischief by inundations caused by sudden breach of embankments” in the Presidency of Fort St. George in Madras..5. Lepers Act of 1898 [Full text].This Act, which provides for the segregation and medical treatment of pauper lepers, has already been repealed in 12 states and 5 union territories. The Act established ‘leper asylums’ and conditions for employment of personnel to these asylums. Long story short, this law should be repealed because it is completely out of sync with the modern understanding of the disease and its treatment..6. Armed Forces (Special Powers) Ordinance, Ordinance 41 of 1942 [Full text].The Ordinance conferred special powers upon certain ranks of officers of the armed forces. This Ordinance was promulgated by the Governor-General-in-Council on August 15th, 1942 to suppress the Quit India Movement. The provisions of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (whose legitimacy is an altogether different debate) clearly overlap with the Ordinance..7. Foreign Recruiting Act of 1874 [Full text].Imagine that you’ve landed a dream job in a foreign country and you can’t take it up because the government won’t let you. This is a perfectly possible scenario under this Act, which empowers the Government to issue an order that prevents the recruitment of Indians by a foreign State. The Act confers a wide discretion on the Government to specify the conditions under which persons may be barred from being recruited by a foreign State. According to the Law Commission, in its 43rd Report on Offences against National Security (1971), such wide discretion might potentially violate the constitutional guarantee to freedom of occupation under Article 19..8. Secunderabad Marriage Validating Ordinance of 1945.This is one is, well, rather inane. It was promulgated to validate a single marriage conducted by a certain Reverend in Secunderabad in 1944. The Reverend had mistakenly married a Christian, but not an Indian Christian under the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1972. The result is that we have an entire 70-year-old ordinance just because a Reverend made a little mistake..9. Indian Treasure Trove Act of 1878 [Full text].Under this Act, anyone who finds ‘treasure’ on Indian soil worth 10 or more rupees has to report the same to the Collector of the area, lest he be imprisoned for up to six months, without any provision for appeal. If that wasn’t enough, the amount of treasure concealed or altered would vest with ‘Her Majesty’..The whole idea of repealing redundant laws is to streamline the legal framework with the country’s ever-growing economy. The repeal of these laws would also prevent frivolous litigation that may arise on account of the rights conferred by these statutes, thereby easing the workload of our already over-burdened judiciary. Or maybe they shouldn’t be repealed, just in case we want to turn back time and live under British all over again.