Change the absurd & antediluvian laws of the land to build the India of your dreams

Antediluvian Laws

o At least 174 laws were passed before 1900 when India was under the British rule.

o At least 199 laws are 100 years old and they are of little or no use today.

Do we need reform?

Pre-Independence Post-Independence

Do we need reform?

Embarrassment Raid

Harassment Bribery

Certain questions which need to be answered!

Why do we need a new act?

What is wrong with old and existing laws?

What are the objectives of new acts?

What are the objectives of policing in India?

What are the challenges faced?

Is it the right time to bid goodbye to old laws?

Why better laws?

• Maintaining law and order• Ensuring consistent growth• Improve governance as a whole.

Age old laws

• Indian Penal Code, 1860• Police Act, 1861• Evidence Act, 1872• Contract Act, 1872• Land Acquisition Act, 1894• Indian Telegraph Act, 1885• Indian Trust Act, 1882• Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881

…need to be in sync with modern times.

Change is vital...!

• The govt too has begun the process of replacing those acts.

• The special commission appointed by NDA government in 1998 and headed by PC Jain, identified at least 1,382 laws for repeal, but only 415 have been repealed to date; 17 are in various stages of repeal and nine are still being examined.

• Till date, the Parliament has enacted more than 3,500 laws and almost 25,000 state legislatures.

Law of the land• The Sarai Act, 1867

Some years ago, a district magistrate used it to warn a hotel in mughalsarai for allowing actor Aamir Khan to stay incognito. The act makes it mandatory for a sarai (hotel, guesthouse) keeper to verify a person’s identity before allowing him/her to stay.

• Ganges Toll Act, 1867

Authorities can impose a levy on steamers and boats plying between Allahabad and Dinapur, not exceeding 12 annas. This act remains along with National Waterway Act, 1982.

• Fort William Act, 1881

Article III of this act says Fort William and the maidan (both are in Kolkata) should be a no-nuisance land. It shall be the duty of every police officer, non-commissioned officer or military policemen to arrest, without a warrant, anyone who commits any of these offences — throwing dirt or rubbish into the drains or upon the roads or the maidan.

1861- Police Act

o Section 23 lay down that the duties of officers are to promptly obey and execute all orders and warrants lawfully issued by any competent authority.

o Section 15 provides for the stationing of additional punitive police in any part of the province found to be disturbed from the conduct of the inhabitants.

o Section 17 provides for the appointment of the residents as special police officers to assist the regular police

o Section 19 provides powers to punish people refusing to serve as such.o Section 30 empowers the police to license the assemblies and

processions of people that could be refused on grounds of threat to law and order.

…

Section 144 Prohibitory order

What it says• Law to ban protests in a

certain area.

• The law gives powers to a magistrate to order a person to abstain from an act, which could obstruct or cause annoyance or injury to any person “lawfully employed”, or pose a “danger to human life, health or safety…”

What it means• The ambit of criminal code

procedure is actually much wider.

• Used in routine and for everything from burning candles during protest to ordering paan shops to shut by 1am.

Section 144 Prohibitory order

What it says• The law is used when a local

magistrate foresees any danger to life, or a “disturbance of the public tranquillity, or a riot”, or even wants to prevent any “obstruction, annoyance or injury to any person lawfully employed”. Here, one can ask anyone to abstain from a certain act, to take an action that can ward off that danger.

What it means• It was used to clamp down

nationalist agitation like salt tax, issued against Jawaharala Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi and Madan Mohan Malviya.

• In present era, it was used for everyone from Ram Manohar Lohia to VP Singh to Baba Ramdev and justified by all governments.

Section 144 Prohibitory order

• To liquor shops to install CCTV, inform police of public drinking at the outlet.

• To BPOs to ensure safety of women employees when they are being dropped home at night.

• To landlords to give information on tenants to police/ tenants must also register with the police.

• To second hand car dealers to record information on sellers and buyers, inform police of suspicious transactors.

• To cyber cafes to verify identities and register users.

• To couriers to maintain a record of senders and goods sent.

• To ban on carrying live flames or live candles or live fire in any form in processions, rallies functions.

Where else this law is issued…

• The police performance does not meet the expectations of citizens as of being constrained to function under an outmoded and 'politically more useful' system. It is identified as politically partisan performing, brutal, corrupt and inefficient, which is the clear perceptions of the police institution in the country.

Do old laws hurts Industry?

• Yes! since the Acts and the rules neither recognise current realities, nor do they facilitate compliance, there is a tendency to evolve mechanisms which are not in the interest of employees, employer or even the state. Harassment and circumvention emerge as the key conduct.

• The Jain Commission, in its 'Report of the Commission on Review of Administrative Laws' (September 1998), commented: "There is a perception among many people that despite a fairly extensive state intervention and a regulatory regime in our country, there is no real deterrence and effective enforcement for the benefit of society in general and the average citizen in particular."

Can severe law deter crime?Laws don’t prevent crime, They punish it

We legislate criminal laws for three broad reasons:

• Let people know exactly what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.

• Punish people who violate these norms.

• Remove the dangerous people from society for the protection of everyone else.

We create corporate regulations for following purposes:

• Inform companies what is unacceptable economic behaviour.

• Punish corporate management who violate these norms.

• Remove dangerous economic behaviours from society.

Can severe law deter crime?Laws don’t prevent crime, They punish it

• Strict laws do not prevent crimes. We can legislate all the criminal laws we want, but there will still be bank robberies and drunk driving and murders. We pass laws not to prevent these acts from taking place, but rather, to make sure their is a very high cost to committing them.

• What one need to understand that for tougher laws and to provide severe punishments:

we need stronger evidence, Court need more time to judge, Courts may be reluctant to award conviction, with the fear of

miscarriage of justice.• What can reduce crime is the certainty of punishment!

LawsWhat is the perception of present laws

• A government leader is perceived to be corrupt, slow and a paper-pusher, the owner of the system.

• A corporate leader is seen as a greedy, unscrupulous money earner who beats the system.

• Media leader is someone who is always challenging the system

• Leader in public life is a lone ranger fighting a losing battle against the system.

What should be the perception of laws

• Provides better security• Provide protection to the

people of the country• Uphold human rights• Improve governance as a

whole.

To an Indian dream…

• WHEN India won independence 65 years ago, its leaders had a vision for the country’s future. In part, their dream was admirable and rare for Asia: liberal democracy. Thanks to them, Indians mostly enjoy the freedom to protest, speak up, vote, travel and pray however and wherever they want to; and those liberties have ensured that elected civilians, not generals, spies, religious leaders or self-selecting partymen, are in charge. If only their counterparts in China, Russia, Pakistan and beyond could say the same.

• When it is said that archaic laws need to be changed, we need to understand what it means. The governing principle while making any law is to protect equality and justice. We have laws in our statute book which are even 200 years old. For example, before the Constitution of India was drafted, we had the Government of India Act, 1935, and you will find that most of the clauses in both of them are common.

To an Indian dream…

• Most of the new acts have born out of the older ones. The law of treason and sedition, Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), must be repealed. Whenever old law is repealed and new one is drafted, it is always to protect the present society. Therefore, it is important for laws to carry expiry dates so that they can be repealed when they stop serving their purpose with changing times.

• These antediluvian laws are hindering India’s progress, not helping it. It is time to shake off the past and dump them. The country needs leaders who with their pragmatic approach see the direction it should take, understand the difficult steps required, and can persuade their countrymen that the journey is worthwhile. If it finds such leaders, there is no limit to how far India might go.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” - Edmund Burke (1729-97)

THANK YOU

References

• Internet• http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-01-06/news/

36162202_1_prohibitory-orders-crpc-criminal-procedure-code• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_the_land• http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/fearing-police-action-tribals-

continue-to-hide-in-forests/article387465.ece?textsize=small&test=2 • http://indiatogether.org/2006/feb/gov-padcrole.htm • http://indiatogether.org/2006/mar/gov-policebk.htm • http://indiatogether.org/2006/jan/gov-policeact.htm • http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/fearing-police-action-tribals-

continue-to-hide-in-forests/article387465.ece?textsize=small&test=2

References

• http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/03/laws-dont-prevent-crime-they-punish-it

• http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-01-02/news/36111589_1_stringent-punishment-antony-social-organisations

• http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-01-07/bangalore/36191787_1_punishment-delhi-gang-offenders

• http://crime.about.com/od/prevent/a/deterrence.htm• http://www.economist.com/node/21563720 • http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/03/laws-dont-prevent-crime-they-

punish-it/ • http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Statutory-

warning-Old-laws-hurt-industry/articleshow/17406315.cms • http://umanitoba.ca/outreach/evidencenetwork/archives/4653 • http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/200/ratchoc.html