Obsolete laws: Parliamentary panel for sunset clause in future legislations
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 16
A parliamentary committee on Tuesday lauded the government for repealing 1,486 obsolete and redundant laws between 2014 to February 4, 2021 and called for exploration of a sunset clause in all future legislations.
A sunset clause provides for automatic repeal of provisions of the law or sections of it once a certain date is reached.
“More laws are required to be identified and repealed with broader political consensus. The Committee believes laws prevalent in any country should reflect current situation in society and polity and be in consonance with changing times. We recommend that the Government should review and scrutinize laws which no longer serve their purpose and intended objectives from time to time with suggestions from all stakeholders and general masses and take initiative for their repealing,” the panel on law and justice said today.
It recommended that the government may explore the provision of including sunset clause in all the proposed legislations.
The panel on law and justice today also questioned 50 pc vacancies in Legislative Department of the government and its two wings. “It is seen that out of 232 sanctioned posts in the Department, 91 posts are lying vacant. In Vidhi Sahitya Prakashan, 26 of the 75 sanctioned posts are lying vacant. Even in Official Languages Wing, 56 of the 154 sanctioned posts were vacant till December 31, 2020. Having large vacancies impedes the smooth and efficient functioning of the organization,” said the Committee adding that legislation is one of the instruments of articulating the policy of the Government and the Legislative Department has a major role to play in formulating constitutionally valid and effective legislation.
“The Committee is of the view that the concerned administrative ministries and legislative department should ensure that drafting of Bill is done by a person of high calibre having a sound legal background and experience and it should also assess the impact from the point of view of scrutiny and judicial review,” said the panel.
