What does the uniform civil code refer to?
Uniform Civil Code essentially refers to a common set of laws which will govern personal and familial matters such as marriage, divorce, maintenance, adoption, inheritance, and succession.
Why do we have a common criminal code but not civil code?
The British enacted a common criminal code for India, but no uniform civil code possibly in view of the religious sensitivities of the locals. Instead, they left personal laws governing different religious communities in this country intact.
Does the Constitution speak of a uniform civil code?
Article 44 of the Constitution enjoins the government to enact such a law. It is not enforceable but is part of the directive principles of state policy which are intended to usher in true socio-economic justice if implemented.
Is the Supreme Court in favour of a UCC?
The SC has spoken of uniform civil code in at least three cases. The Shah Bano Begum[1] maintenance case in which the top court issued a judgement favouring maintenance to a divorced Muslim woman.
The court has also spoken for a UCC in the Jordan Diengdeh versus S.S. Chopra and the Sarala Mudgal cases.
Which is the only state in India to have a uniform civil code?
Goa. The Goan civil code, the Portuguese civil code, is hardly uniform. It has so many exceptions that It is more of a common civil code.
What are the personal laws governing different religious groups in this country?
The Muslims for example are governed by the Muslim personal law (Sharia) Application Act, 1937, (making Sharia laws applicable to Indian Muslims). The Christians, the Sikhs, and the Parsis also have separate personal laws.
What about the Hindus? Have their personal laws been codified?
Hindu personal laws have been substantially codified despite opposition from many conservative quarters and India’s first president Rajendra Prasad. The Hindus are governed by the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
The law is applicable to not merely Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains but also to any person who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew, and who is not governed by any other law.
Issues such as maintenance, divorce, adoption, etc have also been codified by separate laws.
What is the difference between a system governed by separate personal laws and a uniform civil code?
Academics and experts say that a uniform civil code will be more gender equal as it will treat women on par with men in matters such as divorce and maintenance. It will also bring the property rights of daughters on par with the sons.
Why is the UCC being opposed?
Conservative elements in all religions, opposed to gender equality in property i.e., inheritance and succession issues, object to a UCC.
Why are the minority communities opposing it?
The Muslim community, the largest minority community in the country, says that the Muslim Personal Law is an issue of its religious and cultural identity protected by Articles 15 and 25 of the Constitution.
Muslims believe that UCC is a back-door attempt to impose Hindu values and laws on every Indian.
Any UCC will impose a more gender-neutral code on the Muslims. Women may get a greater share in property; equality in matters such as divorce and maintenance; and it may also affect division of property among children.
What are the other grounds for opposing it?
Some like former law minister in the UPA government, Veerappa Moily, say that a UCC would be tough to implement in a multi-cultural, multi-racial country like India.
Within the Hindus, tribals in some parts of the country have their own personal laws, as do many backward classes.
The northeast, Nagaland, and Mizoram, also have matrilineal systems with their own practices and customs.
Some other areas such as Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in Karnataka and coastal Kerala, have matrilineal family systems. These will have to go if a UCC is brought in.
How will a UCC impact the Hindus? What will happen to tax concessions made for a Hindu Undivided Family in taxation laws?
Conservative elements in the Hindu community may also oppose any changes in personal laws as in 1956 when changes in the Hindu laws were first proposed. The HUF provision, which allows Hindu undivided families to be taxed less than families of other religions, will have to go if any such code comes in.
Why is no one clear on what it entails?
No one is clear on the issue as no party or government has ever come up with a draft UCC to debate the issue. This may be due to lack of political consensus on this. There is also no clarity on whether there should be only one law on all these aspects or separate ones.
Who can technically bring in a UCC?
Marriage, divorce are issues which figure in the concurrent list. Ideally, Parliament can make the laws and states can tweak it to accommodate regional differences.
But if state governments go ahead with separate UCCs, there is a chance that these laws may end up conflicting with each other.
What is the situation in other countries?
Most European countries have a standard civil code. All citizens, including minorities, are subject to the same set of rules. But it is much easier as they are almost heterogeneous countries with a small percentage of minorities.
India on the other hand is a huge country, a sub-continent with a heterogenous population, with a significant population of minorities.
What about theocratic states such as Syria, Tunisia, Morocco, Pakistan, Bangladesh et al which have a state religion?
Many such countries have also modified and codified their personal laws with a view to moulding them to modern social requirements.
It is easier for the governments there to usher in social change through laws as the issue is not inextricably linked to identity or existential issues of any minority community.
For instance, polygamy has been completely prohibited in Tunisia and Turkey and on the other hand has been curbed in Syria, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Iran, and Pakistan by making it permissible subject to certain conditions.
What is the process of registering marriages in India?
All marriages can be registered either under their respective personal laws (Hindu Marriage Act, 1955/Muslim Marriage Act, 1954) or under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, which allows members of two different religions to marry without converting from their own religion to the other’s.
Succession to the property of persons married under the Special Marriage Act and their children is governed under the Indian Succession Act, 1925, while those under their own personal laws will go by the customary rules of their own communities.
If the parties belong to Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, or Jain religions, then the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, governs succession. The 1956 Act has since been amended many times.
What is the significance of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, in any proposed UCC?
Scholars say this law was an attempt at making a uniform civil code but it has not been as popular as expected due to certain loopholes. The Indian Succession Act is used to determine succession and inheritance in such marriages.
Who recommended that the SMA be converted into the UCC?
The 211th[4] and 212th[5] law commission reports suggested that the Special Marriage Act be tweaked to make it a UCC.
What were the changes recommended by the Law Commission?
The Law Commission said that a provision, which sever ties of a HUF family member with his joint family if he marries under this act, be changed.
The Act, by severing ties with the HUF, bars children of such marriages from inheriting ancestral property. They can, however, inherit the parents’ personal property.
Why do some sections say a UCC is unnecessary?
Some scholars say that there is enough evidence on hand to show that courts have through their judgements narrowed down the areas covered by personal laws of communities and incrementally brought about a judicial uniformity of sorts in familial laws.
In this context, they cite the example of Section 125, CrPC, which courts apply to all divorced women seeking maintenance.
Attempts to negate this section and allow Muslims to practice their own personal laws have come to naught despite enactment of the Muslim Women (Protection on Divorce Act), 1986[6], brought in to overcome the Shah Bano case ruling.
Courts have ensured that the law remains a dead letter, they say.
Conclusion: While a UCC may be good for gender justice and may make some of our patriarchal laws more gender equal, it is necessary to work on a consensus on this as it could run into opposition from many quarters.
[1] AIR 1985 SC 945 [2] AIR 1985 SC 935 [3] AIR 1995 SC 1531 [4] https://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/reports/report211.pdf [5] https://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/reports/report212.pdf [6] (2001) 7 SCC 740
