Debate and discuss laws more thoroughly in 2024 and beyond

A government using its majority to speed up the legislative process would be laudable if the laws stood the test of time.

Goods trucks across India have come to a standstill over the past four days, as a protest against unfulfilled demands put forth by truckers. IN PIC: A motorist rides past trucks parked at Jahaj Ghar i

The year opened with a massive strike by truckers in the north and west of the country. They were protesting the provision in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the redrafted penal code, which would treat hit-and-run cases as an aggravated form of offence. Section 106 (2) of the new law calls for a prison term of up to 10 years in such cases.

People and the government panicked when petrol stations went unfilled and food prices started soaring. The government took a step back and said it would enact the provision only after consulting with the All India Motor Transport Congress. Now, it is true that India suffers from one of the highest rates of traffic accidents in the world. The National Crime Records Bureau reported that 4,72,467 traffic accidents across the country in 2022 resulted in 1,94,347 deaths and injuries to 4,25,727 persons. The government is well within its rights to come up with a penal deterrent.

Heavy rush at a petrol pump amid the truckers’ protest in Hyderabad | PTI

What is in question is the enact-first-discuss-later approach to legislation. This was not the first time in recent years a law was passed with inadequate consultation and scrutiny. A study published after the winter session showed that half the bills passed by the 17th Lok Sabha were discussed for less than two hours each. The share of bills referred to parliamentary committees has fallen from 71 per cent in the 15th Lok Sabha to 25 per cent and 16 per cent during the 16th and 17th Lok Sabhas. A government using its majority to speed up the legislative process would be laudable if the laws stood the test of time. The hastily implemented GST Act of 2017 has seen 129 amendments and 741 notifications in the last five years.

The pre-legislative consultation policy drafted by the Committee of Secretaries in January 2014 calls for a 30-day consultation period with the general public before the Cabinet can approve a law for tabling. Every ministry is asked to publish the consultations on its website. But the policy also gives a leeway to the ministries to eschew the process if “it is not feasible or desirable to do so”. We hope that the new government that will be sworn in later this year will follow the policy in spirit even if it cannot do so in letter on every occasion.