HVK Archives: Too many laws, little justice
Too many laws, little justice - The Indian Express
Rakesh Shukla
()
6 May 1997
Title : Too many laws, little justice
Author : Rakesh Shukla
Publication : The Indian Express
Date : May 6, 1997
Judges, ministers, Members of Parliament and sociologists have been periodically
proclaiming the need for change in the obsolete laws of India. In our fragmented
polity there ,appears to be a unique consensus about change in the law. Yet
nothing changes. Now, we have the Prime Minister I. K. Gujral himself, declaring
that certain outmoded laws are used just to harass people and the matter of
simplification of legislations will receive his personal attention.
However, the announcement that a panel of retired jurists will be set up to
examine the plethora of laws, does not inspire much confidence. Yet another
commission with yet another set of recommendations. Approximately 150
recommendations of the Law Commission are gathering dust. This is besides the
legion of other commissions on specific subjects. Banking, industrial disputes,
independence of CBI - you name it and there is a commission or committee.
For the past 45 years, there has been a consensus that the law should change more
in favour of the poor and exploited sections of society. As a result, several
recommendations for change were non-controversial. Despite this, the Parliament
chose not to implement the recommendations.
The present reality is much more complex. There is tremendous pressure from
multinationals, first world governments and international bodies like the IMF and
World Trade Organisation (WTO) to bring about changes in laws to open up markets
and attract foreign investment. This has already resulted in changes in some
fields of law such a patents, mines and minerals and foreign exchange.
In addition, reports of several committees advocating large scale changes in
industrial and financial sector laws such as the Industrial Disputes Act, Foreign
Exchange Regulation Act and Companies Act are pending with the government
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