Uniform Civil Code

What is Uniform Civil Code?

• UCC is a proposed uniform legal framework on personal matters of all religious communities across the country, such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, etc.

Provisions in the Constitution –

• In Part IV of the Constitution, under the Directive Principles of State Policy, Article 44 mentions that the state will make efforts to implement a Uniform Civil Code throughout India.

Objective:

• To replace the existing personal law based on religious customs and traditions.

Status:

• Applicable in Goa, the only state of India.
• In the year 1867, the Portuguese Civil Code is applicable to all people living in Goa.
• While Uttarakhand became the first state in the country to implement UCC after independence.

Need for UCC in India

• Different religious communities in India are governed by different personal laws.
• Different personal laws lead to the rise of many social evils which adversely affect the dignity of women.
• Religious personal laws give rise to many taboos and give less rights to women as compared to men.

Arguments in favour of UCC

• Equal status for all: Equality in rules related to marriage, divorce, inheritance.
• Increase in gender equality and justice: Helps in strengthening the secular nature and eliminating gender discrimination on religious grounds.
• Respect for women: Women deprived due to cultural religious traditions get the right to live a respectable life.
• Increase in national unity: Due to mutual harmony among communities, religious fanaticism decreases and national unity increases.
• Indicator of progress: Unified personal law helps in eliminating the evils, social evils, unjust and irrational traditions prevalent in communities.
• Administrative simplicity: Eliminating controversial provisions of personal law promotes legal and administrative simplicity.

Arguments against UCC

• Fundamental rights issue: Violation of the fundamental right to freedom of religion under Article 25 of the Constitution.
• Practical difficulties: Threat to India's diversity, customs and regional traditions and threat to the identity of tribals.
• Perception among minorities: It can be presented as an atrocity by resorting to communal politics, which can lead to social tension and unrest in the country.
• Diversity: Decrease in the multicultural identity of Indian society and weakening of religious identity.
• Issues related to drafting of UCC and opinion of the Law Commission.
  • The 21st Law Commission is of the opinion that all personal laws should be codified, so that prejudices and conservatism in each of them can be brought to the fore and it can be tested on the basis of fundamental rights of the Constitution.

Debate in the Constituent Assembly

• Whether the provision of UCC should be included as a fundamental right or as a directive principle was a subject of intense debate in the Constituent Assembly.
• Opponents, mainly Muslim members of the Constituent Assembly, feared that it would weaken the rights of religious minorities in India and destroy the diversity of India.
• Member Naziruddin Ahmad from Bengal was of the opinion that UCC would not cause inconvenience only to Muslims as every religious community has its own religious beliefs and practices.
• K.M. Munshi was of the opinion that UCC would promote unity of the country and equality for women.
• Dr. Ambedkar said that in future the Parliament may make provision for implementing UCC in a purely voluntary manner.
• Mr. Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer was of the opinion that having separate personal laws would lead to limited scope for reform and would promote communalism.
• Ultimately the Sub-Committee on Fundamental Rights headed by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel decided that the establishment of UCC should not come under the purview of Fundamental Rights.

Related Judgments of the Supreme Court

Md. Ahmad Khan vs Shah Bano (1985)

• Confirmation of the right of a Muslim woman to claim maintenance from her husband under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
• Recommendation to establish a Uniform Civil Code.

Sarla Mudgal vs Union of India (1995)

• A marriage solemnized under Hindu law can be dissolved only on the grounds specified under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. A Hindu husband cannot convert to Islam and marry again without annulling his first marriage.
• UCC will put a stop to such fraudulent conversions and bigamy.

John Vallamattam case (2003)

• It is regrettable that Article 44 of the Constitution has not been implemented.

Way Forward

• UCC is desirable, but its hasty implementation may be detrimental to the social harmony of the country. • It should be implemented gradually as gradual reforms.
• First of all, those elements of customs and traditions which infringe upon the rights of individuals should be brought under the ambit of a unified law.
• Consideration should be given to making the equitable provisions included in various personal laws a part of the unified law.
• Keeping alive the country's 'unity in diversity' identity, importance should be given to the customs and traditions of different communities.
• Before implementing it, an attempt should be made to build a consensus among all stakeholders.