Report No. 148

1.4. Identifying the dead wood.-

The object of this Report is to identify the dead wood on the Indian Statute Book in regard to pre-1947 Central Acts. The date 15th August, 1947 has been chosen as the dividing line, mainly for the reason that enactments passed before the attainment of independence stand m a special class. In the case of such enactments the chances of their becoming wholly or partly obsolete are greater than in the case of other enactments.

The attainment of independence may conceivably (though not necessarily) have some impact on the need for their retention. The new political status so acquired by a country may render irrelevant an Act enacted prior to independence, or at least reduce its importance. There is another aspect of the matter, though it is incidental. The older an enactment, the more scope there may be for an examination of that Act from the point of view of the possibility of its obsolescence. Just as a child starts ageing as soon, as it is born, so does an enactment.