Inefficient legislative drafting can weaken laws, democracy: Amit Shah

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ An inefficient legislative drafting system can weaken laws and democracy and even affect functioning of the judiciary, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday, adding that grey areas left in the drafting would lead to encroachment in interpretation.

Inaugurating a training programme on legislative drafting for state and central government officials, Mr Shah also said that it will be easier to educate about the law with minimal chances of errors by the executive if the drafting is better.

“The more simple and clear the drafting of the laws, the easier it is to implement a law. Clear drafting also keeps the possibility of judicial overstepping at bay. The more grey area left during the drafting process, the more scope for judicial interpretations,” he said.

Mr Shah said India is not only the biggest democracy, the idea of democracy also emerged from India. From the days of the Mahabharata to the Mauryan era and again to the Gupta empire, democracy was one of the alternatives to government systems. “The Indian Constitution borrows heavily from our democratic heritage while remaining guided by modern principles and practices of democracy,” Mr Shah said.