When the clock struck midnight to announce the new day of the 15th of August in 1947, India achieved independence from British Raj and chose to become a ‘Democratic Republic’. Later, after the enforcement of Constitution, the preamble envisioned India as a democratic country, not only from a political perspective but from a social standpoint too. In other words, it is not only a form of government but also a purview of society infused with the spirit of ‘Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity’
Many laws were taken from the colonial rule and were rehashed into new statutes, barring those provisions which were samples of colonial thinking rather than a democratic one. Fast forward to 2020 and our country is still burdened with archaic laws which do not conform to the dynamic requirement of a progressive democracy. 2014 brought into the spotlight the antique nature of such laws with ‘Obsolete Laws: Warranting Immediate Repeal’ which was an Interim Report of the 20th Law Commission of India. This Commission enlisted 72 such laws which were not only redundant in nature but also discriminatory and arbitrary.
These antiquated laws play a major role in India being branded a ‘Flawed Democracy’ by the Democracy Index, 2019, published by The Economic Times Intelligence Unit. Many of these outdated laws contribute to the ‘erosion of civil liberties’, which is a prime suspect for the country to be given such a mantle.
Contradictory to the above fact, multiple modern and progressive laws have been enforced which provide hope for the future of our democracy. With the introduction of the Information & Technology Act (2000), Right to Information Act (2005), Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (2005) etc. , many laws have been introduced to ameliorate the decaying civil liberties which are fundamental to a democratic state. Recently, Judiciary has also played a major role in development of our law through contextual interpretation of statutes, which lay the groundwork for the legislature to introduce new laws or modify existing ones.
Conclusion
The purpose of this study is to present a systemic approach regarding the effects of the archaic laws on the current human rights and civil liberties on which the pedestal of our democracy is placed. The main purpose of this article is to determine the effect of these laws which were introduced in different circumstances and their applicability in modern times. This study also reflects on the recently introduced laws which might be an answer to the dilemma of our progressing society.
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By--
Abhuday Kumar Gupta, student of Galgotias University and right now he is in 1st year pursuing B.A.LL.B.
References
1. Basu D. D. 2015, Introduction to the constitution of India, 22nd edition, Lexis Nexis.
2. LAW COMMISSION OF INDIA Report No. 248 2014, “Obsolete Laws : Warranting Immediate Repeal”
3. Press trust of India 2020,India falls to 51st position in EIU's Democracy Index, viewed 21st February 2020,/m.economictimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/india-falls-to-51st-position-in-eius-democracy-index/amp_articleshow/73519661.cms
4. Basu D. D.2017, Shorter Constitution of India vol .1, 14th edition, Lexis Nexis.
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