Parliament Question: Repeal of Obsolete and Redundant Laws

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2232 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 31st JULY, 2026 REPEAL OF OBSOLETE AND REDUNDANT LAWS 2232. MS SAYANI GHOSH: Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state: (a) the number of obsolete, redundant and outdated Central Acts and subordinate legislations repealed or amended by the Government since 2014, year-wise; (b) the details of the laws so repealed, including the Ministries/Departments to which they pertained, sector-wise; (c) the mechanism, committee or institutional framework adopted for identifying obsolete laws and the criteria followed for their repeal; (d) whether the Government has assessed the impact of repealing such laws on ease of doing business, governance, judicial pendency and regulatory compliance, if so, the details thereof; and (e) whether any further review of existing laws is underway for repeal or simplification, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL) (a) to (e): On the basis of the Reports of the Law Commission of India and the Two-member Committee constituted by the Government including the recommendations of various Ministries/Departments for repeal of laws administered by them, a total number of 1725 obsolete and redundant laws have been repealed by the Government since 2014 till date through various Repealing and Amending Acts and other enactments. The details of the laws repealed during the said period are available on the official website of the Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice at https://www.legislative.gov.in/static/uploads/2026/03/af8aae0b3bfc3e703fe57ae181e9d4ba.pdf for public access. 1Repealing of obsolete legislations is an important commitment of the Government for achieving the larger objective of “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance”. The repeal of obsolete and redundant laws, besides reducing the volume of statute book, also reduces the compliance burden, thereby ensuring ease of living for citizens. It also provides clarity of existing laws to the executive, judiciary, stakeholders and the general public. The Legislative Department undertakes drafting of laws for repeal of obsolete and redundant laws administered by them on the basis of the policy decisions taken by the concerned administrative Ministries/Department and as per the procedure prescribed by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs in the Manual of Parliamentary Procedures. The Legislative Department has been taking necessary steps to ensure that legislative drafting is simple, plain, precise and unambiguous. Presently, the Twenty-third Law Commission of India, has also been constituted vide notification dated 02.09.2024, with the mandate, inter alia, to identify such laws which are no longer needed or relevant and can be repealed. ***** 2