Repealed, Dead & Infamous Laws

1919–1922

The Rowlatt Act

"No dalil, no vakil, no appeal"

The Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act 1919, known after the Rowlatt Committee as the Rowlatt Act, allowed the government to detain suspects without trial and to try political cases without juries. Indians summed it up as "no dalil, no vakil, no appeal" (no argument, no lawyer, no appeal). Gandhi's nationwide satyagraha against it was followed by the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. It was repealed in 1922 without ever being used.

• Repealed in 1922.
• Gandhi's first all-India satyagraha was against it.

1878–1882

The Vernacular Press Act

The "gagging act"

Passed under Viceroy Lord Lytton, the Vernacular Press Act 1878 allowed the government to censor Indian-language newspapers, but not English ones. To escape it, the Amrita Bazar Patrika switched overnight from Bengali to English. It was repealed in 1882 by Lord Ripon.

• Repealed by Lord Ripon in 1882.
• Amrita Bazar Patrika became an English paper to escape it.

1871–1952

The Criminal Tribes Act

Communities branded as criminal

The Criminal Tribes Act 1871 allowed the British to notify entire communities as "criminal tribes", subjecting them to registration, restrictions on movement and surveillance. It was repealed with effect from 31 August 1952; the communities it had notified are known as Vimukta Jatis (denotified tribes), and 31 August is observed as Vimukta Jati Diwas. Many states replaced it with Habitual Offenders Acts, which remain controversial.

• Repealed with effect from 31 August 1952.
• Denotified tribes: Vimukta Jatis.

1818

Bengal Regulation III of 1818

Detention without trial

The Bengal State Prisoners Regulation 1818 let the colonial government confine any person without trial "for reasons of state". It was used against nationalists; Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh were deported to Mandalay under it in 1907.

1971–1977

The Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA)

The Emergency's detention law

MISA allowed preventive detention without trial and was amended repeatedly during the Emergency to remove safeguards; tens of thousands of people, including opposition leaders, were detained under it. The Janata government repealed it in 1977. Some parents named children born during the Emergency "Misa".

• Repealed by the Janata government in 1977.