The Repealing and Amending Act, 2025

Summary of Repealing and Amending Act,2025

The Act aims to simplify the statute book, improve legal clarity, and remove enactments that have become unnecessary without affecting accrued rights, liabilities, or pending proceedings.
It repeals 71 obsolete Acts and amends 4 existing Acts.
Key Provisions
1. Repeal of Obsolete Laws
• Repeal of 71 Acts: Removes enactments that have become obsolete, spent, or whose purpose has already been fulfilled.
• Removal of Amendment Acts: Repeals several amending Acts whose amendments have already been incorporated into the principal legislation.
2. Amendment of Existing Laws
• Four Acts Amended: Makes technical and consequential amendments to the General Clauses Act, 1897, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, Indian Succession Act, 1925, and Disaster Management Act, 2005.
• Legislative Clarity: Updates terminology, corrects drafting errors, and removes obsolete provisions.
3. Savings Clause
• Protection of Existing Rights: The repeal does not affect accrued rights, liabilities, obligations, penalties, or pending legal proceedings.
• Continuity of Law: Ensures that actions taken under the repealed enactments remain legally valid.
4. Simplification of the Statute Book
• Removal of Redundant Laws: Eliminates unnecessary legislation to reduce complexity and improve accessibility.
• Ease of Governance: Facilitates efficient legal administration by maintaining a cleaner and more coherent body of laws.
5. Modernisation of the Legal Framework
• Improved Legislative Drafting: Promotes consistency and modern legal terminology across statutes.
• No Substantive Policy Change: The Act primarily performs legislative housekeeping without introducing major policy reforms.

Legislative History:
The Repealing and Amending Act, 2025

Source: Official Record of Parliament, India Code, and Ministry of Law and Justice

Act Title - The Repealing and Amending Act, 2025
Act Number - Act No. 37 of 2025
Act ID (India Code)- 202537
Presidential Assent date - December 20, 2025
Enforcement Date - December 20, 2025
Nodal Ministry- Ministry of Law and Justice

Precedent & Historical Rationale

● Statutory Cleanup & Removal of Obsolete Enactments: Formally repeals 71 redundant, spent, and obsolete Acts enacted between 1886 and 2023, continuing periodic legislative exercise to purge outdated laws and reduce statutory congestion.
● Abolition of Mandatory Probate & Core Procedural Reforms: Introduces major procedural amendments across key statutes, most notably omitting Section 213 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925—thereby ending the century-old mandatory requirement to obtain probate for enforcing wills in the former Presidency towns of Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai. It also introduces targeted technical updates to the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, the General Clauses Act, 1897, and the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Parliamentary Trajectory & Enactment
● Formulation: Introduced by the Ministry of Law and Justice to periodically review the statute book, repeal unnecessary amending enactments whose changes have already been absorbed into principal statutes, and resolve procedural friction in civil litigation.
● Parliamentary Passage: Introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 15, 2025; passed by the Lok Sabha on December 16, 2025; and passed by the Rajya Sabha on December 17, 2025.
● Presidential Assent: Received the assent of the President of India on December 20, 2025.
● Enforcement: Enforced on December 20, 2025.