India, Dec. 12 -- The Union Cabinet on Friday approved a Bill to repeal 71 laws that officials say have outlived their utility and continue to clutter India's statute books.

Of the 71 laws identified for repeal, 65 are amendment Acts that have already been subsumed into their parent legislations, while six are standalone laws. Officials said at least one of these dates back to the British era.

According to the government, the move is not specifically aimed at removing colonial laws but at clearing obsolete legislation that no longer serves a purpose. "Once an amendment is passed by Parliament, it gets subsumed in the principal law. Its use has ended but it continues to exist and creates confusion," an official said.

Since May 2014, the...