Report No. 248
17. Sarais Act, Act 22 of 1867
Category: Trade and Commerce
Recommendation: Repeal in consultation with state(s)
The Act empowers the District Magistrate to regulate public sarais. It includes provisions related to registration, character certificate, and written reports from the sarai keeper, among others. This Act is now redundant because hotels are already registered under relevant state legislations and regulations made thereunder.
Further, it has been reported in the news that police and tourism officials have harassed hotel owners in the recent past for failure to comply with the provisions of the Sarais Act. Hence, this Act should now be repealed. This Act has also been recommended for repeal by the PC Jain Commission in its Appendix A-5.