Article 395 canceled all British-era laws in India.

It only repealed the Indian Independence Act, 1947 and the Government of India Act, 1935 (and laws amending the latter). Many other British-era laws continued unless separately repealed or amended.

The Privy Council could still hear Indian appeals after 1950 because of this Article.

Article 395 preserved only the 1949 Act that had already ended such appeals; it did not revive Privy Council jurisdiction.

The Constitution of India

Article 395

repealed

Repeals

The Indian Independence Act, 1947, and the Government of India Act, 1935, together with all enactments amending or supplementing the latter Act, but not including the Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act, 1949, are hereby repealed.§

Why this exists

When the Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950, India needed a clean break from the colonial-era legal framework. The Government of India Act, 1935 had served as India's governing law under British rule, and the Indian Independence Act, 1947 had created India and Pakistan as separate dominions. Article 395 formally repeals both, along with amending laws, so that the new Constitution becomes the sole supreme law. The 1949 Act ending appeals to the British Privy Council was kept alive because it had already achieved its purpose of cutting off a colonial judicial link and needed no further reliance on the repealed Acts.

Common misconceptions

Myth: Article 395 canceled all British-era laws in India.
Fact: It only repealed the Indian Independence Act, 1947 and the Government of India Act, 1935 (and laws amending the latter). Many other British-era laws continued unless separately repealed or amended.
Myth: The Privy Council could still hear Indian appeals after 1950 because of this Article.
Fact: Article 395 preserved only the 1949 Act that had already ended such appeals; it did not revive Privy Council jurisdiction.