The Repealing and Amending Act, 2015 is an Act passed by the Parliament of India in May 2015 that repealed 35 obsolete Acts, and also amended the provisions of The Prohibition of Manual Scavengers Act, 2013, and the Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2011 to correct typographical and certain patent errors. It was the first such repealing Act aimed at repealing obsolete laws tabled in Parliament by the Narendra Modi administration.
Background and legislative history Prime Minister Narendra Modi advocated the repeal of old laws during his 2014 general election campaign. At the 2015 Economic Times Global Business Summit, Modi stated, "Our country suffers from an excess of old and unnecessary laws which obstruct people and businesses. We began the exercise of identifying unnecessary laws and repealing them. 1,877 Central laws have been identified for repeal."
The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2014 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 11 August 2014 by the Minister of Law and Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad. The bill sought to repeal 36 Acts and pass amendments to two Acts. The bill sought to completely repeal The Indian Fisheries Act, 1897, The Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1947, The Sugar Undertakings (Taking Over of Management) Act, 1978 and The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993. The remaining 32 were all amending acts whose changes had been incorporated into the existing Acts. The bill also sought to amend provisions of The Prohibition of Manual Scavengers Act, 2013, and The Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2011 so as to correct typographical and certain patent errors, such as the year of enactment.
The bill was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice on 22 September. The Committee submitted its report on the bill on 19 December 2015. The report recommended that the bill be passed, however, it opposed the repeal of the Manual Scavenging and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993. The Committee also suggested that the government consider adding a sunset clause to amending act to ensure that they would be repealed automatically and would not remain in the statute books after their purpose was achieved.
The bill, as recommended by the Committee, was passed by the Lok Sabha on 18 March and by the Rajya Sabha on 5 May 2015. The bill received assent from President Pranab Mukherjee on 13 May 2015, and was notified in The Gazette of India on the same day.
Repealed Acts The following 35 acts, included in the bill's First Schedule, were completely repealed: №YearAct No.Short titleExtent of repeal118974The Indian Fisheries Act, 1897The whole2194747The Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1947The whole3197849The Sugar Undertakings (Taking Over of Management) Act, 1978The whole4199930The Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1999The whole5199933The Indian Majority (Amendment) Act, 1999The whole6199934The Administrators-General (Amendment) Act, 1999The whole7199936The Notaries (Amendment) Act, 1999The whole8199939The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1999The whole9200130The Repealing and Amending Act, 2001The whole10200149The Mariage Laws (Amendment) Act, 2001The whole11200151The Indian Divorce (Amendment) Act, 2001The whole12200226The Indian Succession (Amendment) Act, 2002The whole13200237The Legal Services Authorities (Amendment) Act, 2002The whole14200272The Representation of the People (Third Amendment) Act, 2002The whole1520033The Transfer of Property (Amendment) Act, 2002The whole1620034The Indian Evidence (Amendment) Act, 2002The whole1720036The Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Act, 2002The whole1820039The Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2002The whole19200324The Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2003The whole20200340The Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2003The whole21200346The Election and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Act, 2003The whole22200350The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 2003The whole2320042The Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Act, 2003The whole2420043The Delimitation (Amendment) Act, 2003The whole2520054The Delegated Legislation Provisions (Amendment)
Act, 2004The whole26200539The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005The whole27200631The Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Act, 2006The whole2820089The Delimitation (Amendment) Act, 2008The whole29200810The Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2008The whole30200941The Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2009The whole31201030The Personal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2010The whole32201036The Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2010The whole33201229The Anand Marriage (Amendment) Act, 2012The whole34201233The Administrators-General (Amendment) Act, 2012The whole35201328The Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Act, 2013The whole
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