Modi government scraps 1,200 redundant Acts, 1,824 more identified for repeal

The Narendra Modi government "is determined to relegate several archaic Acts to history. Laws need to be consonant with the times. 1,200 redundant Acts have been scrapped. 1,824 more have been identified for repeal," said law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Under the Indian Motor Vehicles Act 1914, an inspector in Andhra Pradesh must have well-brushed teeth, and will be disqualified if he has a pigeon chest, knock knees, flatfeet and hammer toes.

This is one among a tangle of bizarre, archaic laws, which survived for years like a relic in a museum but with no relevance in modern India.

Many of these rules put up obstacles to running smooth administration and ease to do business. The Narendra Modigovernment had made it clear at its inception that it was time for these dinosaurs to go extinct.Among the myriad laws in India, there are those that made strange demands. A century-old one said the toll tax for boats ferrying passengers across the river Ganga cannot be more than two annas - a denomination not in use any more.

According to another one, policemen in some states have to ensure that air-dropped pamphlets do not fall in their areas. This was aimed to foil the propaganda campaign during World War II.

A 200-year-old law allowed the British monarch to review decisions of all Indian courts. But these Acts are now history.