The Repealing and Amending Act, 2016
Administered Ministry: Ministry of Law and Justice / Legislative Department
Act details
| Short title | The Repealing and Amending Act, 2016 |
|---|---|
| Long title | An Act to repeal certain enactments and to amend certain other enactments. |
| Act number | 23 of 2016 |
| Act year | 2016 |
| Enactment date | 6 May 2016 |
| Ministry | Ministry of Law and Justice / Legislative Department |
| Department | Legislative Department |
| Jurisdiction | Central (Parliament of India) |
| Sections | 4 |
| Schedules | 2 |
| Status | Not repealed |
| Last checked on India Code | 28 Oct 2026 |
| Source | India Code, Government of India |
Summary
Summary of the Repealing and Amending Act, 2016
Key Details
• Act No.: 23 of 2016
• Enactment Date: 6th May, 2016
Provisions Summary
1. Short Title: - This Act may be called the Repealing and Amending Act, 2016.
2. Repeal of Certain Enactments: - Enactments Repealed: Specified in The First Schedule.
3. Amendment of Certain Enactments: - Enactments Amended: Specified in The Second Schedule.
4. Savings: - Effect on Other Enactments: Repeal does not affect enactments where the repealed enactment has been applied, incorporated, or referred to.
• Retrospective Effects:
• Does not affect validity, invalidity, effects, or consequences of past actions.
• Does not impact existing rights, liabilities, remedies, or proceedings.
• Does not revive or restore non-existing jurisdictions, offices, etc.
Legislative history
Legislative History:
The Repealing and Amending Act, 2016
Short Title The Repealing and Amending Act, 2016
Act Number / Year Act No. 23 of 2016
India Code Act ID 201623
Presidential Assent Date May 6, 2016
Enforcement Date May 6, 2016
Nodal Ministry Ministry of Law and Justice
Precedent & Statutory Rationale
1. Systemic Statutory Housekeeping & Pruning:
o Central statutes in India previously retained hundreds of obsolete, redundant, or pre-independence enactments that had lost functional utility but cluttering the statute book. The 2016 Act served as a periodic mechanism to systematically excise dead law.
2. Removal of Spent Standalone Amending Acts:
o Once a principal statute (e.g., Companies Act, Merchant Shipping Act) is updated by an amending act, the text of the amendment merges into the main law. Keeping standalone amending acts active creates legal redundancies; this Act formally repealed 295 such spent laws.
3. Correction of Minor Clerical & Nomenclature Errors:
o Provided a statutory framework to amend minor formal inaccuracies across statutory bodies—notably updating committee terminology in the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
Parliamentary Trajectory & Enactment
• Formulation: Prepared and piloted by the Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department) based on systematic reviews of active statutes.
• Parliamentary Passage: Introduced in the Lok Sabha as the Repealing and Amending (Fourth) Bill, 2015 on May 13, 2015; debated and passed by the Lok Sabha on August 6, 2015, and subsequently passed by the Rajya Sabha on April 27, 2016.
• Presidential Assent: Received formal Presidential Assent on May 6, 2016, entering the statute book as Act No. 23 of 2016.
• Enforcement: Enforced on May 6, 2016.
• Source: India Code Official Repository and Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department) Official Records