Law Commission of India

Law Commission of India is an executive body established by an order of the Government of India. Its major function is to work for legal reform. Its membership primarily comprises legal experts, who are entrusted a mandate by the Government. The Commission is established for a fixed tenure and works as an advisory body to the Ministry of Law and Justice.

The first Law Commission was established during the British Raj era in 1834 by the Charter Act of 1833. After that, three more Commissions were established in pre-independent India. The first Law Commission of independent India was established in 1955 for a three-year term. Since then, nineteen more Commissions have been established. The 20th Law Commission was established in 2013 under the Chairmanship of Supreme Court Judge, D.K Jain. Its tenure was fixed till 2015. The present Law Commission was established in 2015, and has tenure to 2018. The terms of reference of the Law Commission include the review and repeal of obsolete laws, the examination of existing laws, the revision of central Acts of general importance, &c. In November 2013, the Centre appointed former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Justice Ajit Prakash Shah as the New chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India in place of D.K Jain who has taken over as president National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Shah has a three-year tenure and has been saddled with a wide terms of reference including one to examine existing laws from the gender equality perspective and suggest necessary amendments.

Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan, a former judge of the Supreme Court was appointed Chairman of the 21st Law Commission on 10 March. This post was lying vacant since September 2015. 66-year old Justice Chauhan is currently heading the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal. One of the key issues pending before the Law Commission is a call on amending the Indian Penal Code (IPC) amid allegations of abuse and arbitrary use of the law.

The origin of the first Law Commission of India lies in the diverse and often conflicting laws prevailing in the local regions and those administered by the East India Company, which was granted Royal Charters and also conferred powers by the various Indian rulers to administer and oversee the conduct of the inhabitants in the local areas where the Company exercised control. During this period of administration by the Company, two sets of laws operated in the areas; one which applied to and in relation to British citizens and the second which applied to the local inhabitants and aliens. This was considered as a major stumbling block for proper administration by the British Government during the times which is now known as the British Raj. In order to improve the law and order situation and also to ensure uniformity of legal administration, various options were looked for. Until then the British Government had been passing various enactments to deal with particular situations, such as the Prohibition of Sati in (1829) by Lord William Bentinck under the influence of Raja Ram Mohan Roy. However it was for the first time in (1833) that the idea to establish a Law Commission for a comprehensive examination of the existing legal system prevailing in the British administered areas and its overhaul was instituted.