The Uniform Civil Code means a uniform personal law for all citizens of the country. This code will replace the existing religious personal laws in India and have a uniform law that will cater to all the citizens, irrespective of their religion. This has been envisaged by the makers of our Constitution under Article 44. But it has been strongly opposed because it is considered violative of Article 25 of the Constitution since it does not let people enjoy the personal laws. The article 44 of the Directive principle state policy state that it is the duty of the state to secure a Uniform Civil Code for the citizens throughout the country. One country, one rule is another name for it. The main objective behind implementation of a uniform Civil code in India is that it sets a law to govern the personal matters of all the citizens irrespective of religion. Personal laws are different from public laws as they cover marriage, inheritance, adoption, divorce and maintenance and the India practices a model of secularism in which it has made special provisions for people of different religions and the main idea behind Uniform Civil Code is to treat everyone equally irrespective of religion. Now the problem exists in the fact that there are differences and discrepancies within the personal laws. There is no uniformity. Also, there has been instances where the personal laws denied the rights of women or did not even give them rights. To counter these shortcomings, the Uniform Civil Code can be enacted. In India the main cause for communal conflicts among the common people are the personal laws The Uniform Civil Code is a uniform method or a standardized law which governs citizens as a uniform law. One problem with an absence of having UCC throughout India is that it may go against the basic principles of equality that is one of the fundamental rights of the constitution because by providing personal laws to a certain section of people we are determining the credibility of the secular ethos in the country.
As a matter of fact, it is known that personal laws of communities Gender Injustice is inbuilt. This is a result of the social and economic conditions under which these have been evolved and this is one of the Important reasons that why there is a need to introduce reforms in personal laws or bring about UCC to not only ensure equality between men and women but also in order to bring about gender justice. A uniform civil code if implemented shall lay the grounds for women to overcome various social evils that exist in the society such as the bigamy system and the dowry system which make women feel inferior and degraded. In order to bring uniformity, the courts have often said in their judgements that the government should move towards a UCC. The judgement in the Shah Bano case (1985) is well known where The Supreme Court’s decision in this case is regarded as a major milestone in highlighting the importance of UCC. The case concerned women seeking maintenance after being divorced under triple talaq. The women won in all lower courts, so the husband filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, which was dismissed because the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the wife as per the All India Criminal Code’s “maintenance of wives, children, and parents” provision (Section 125). In addition, the court recommended that a uniform civil code be established. However, widespread agitation was carried out due to religious sentiments attached to the law, and as an outcome, the then-government, under pressure, passed the Muslim Women’s (Right to Protection on Divorce) Act (MWA) in 1986, rendering Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code inapplicable to Muslim women. As a result, the court was correct in emphasising the importance of UCC for having a common basis for jurisdiction. Another case was the Sarla Mudgal Case (1995), which dealt with issue of bigamy and conflict between the personal laws existing on matters of marriage. In this case, relating to the issue for solemnizing of a second marriage by a Hindu spouse after converting to Islam. The court determined that a Hindu marriage solemnised in accordance with Hindu law may be dissolved only on one of the reasons listed in the Hindu Marriage Act 1955. Conversion to Islam and subsequent marriage would not automatically dissolve the Hindu marriage under the act, and therefore, a second marriage solemnised after conversion to Islam would constitute an offence under Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). This made a need of UCC as it creates an ambiguous policy of marriage due to discrepancies between religious laws. By arguing that practices such as triple talaq and polygamy impact adversely the right of a woman to a life of dignity, the Centre has raised the question whether constitutional protection given to religious practices should extend even to those that are not in compliance with fundamental rights. While the criminal laws in India are uniform and applicable equally on all, no matter what their religious beliefs are, the civil laws are influenced by faith. Swayed by religious texts, the personal laws which come into effect in civil cases have always been implemented according to constitutional norms. The personal laws of Hindus and Muslims find their source and authority in their religious ancient texts. In Hinduism, personal laws are applicable to legal issues related to inheritance, succession, marriage, adoption, co-parenting, obligations of sons to pay their father’s debts, the partition of family property, maintenance, guardianship, and charitable donations. In Islam, personal laws apply to matters relating to inheritance, wills, succession, legacies, marriage, wakfs, dowry, guardianship, divorce, gifts, and pre-emption taking roots from Quran. Some more judicial decisions that can be taken into account are:- John Vallamattom Case (The case in which Section 118 of the Indian Succession Act was declared unconstitutional after John Vallamattom challenged it on the grounds that it discriminated against Christians by imposing unreasonable restrictions on their willed gifts for religious or charitable purposes. This demonstrated the inconsistencies under religious laws), Daniel Latifi Case (This case demonstrates how universally applicable law should prevail over unjust religious laws. In this case, Muslim Women’s Act (MWA) was challenged for violation of Articles 14,15 & 21 of the Constitution. The primary point of contention was the amount paid throughout the iddat period. The Supreme Court upheld the act’s constitutionality but interpreted it in accordance with Section 125 of the CrPC, holding that the amount received by a wife during the iddat period should be sufficient to support her during the iddat period as well as for the remainder of her life or until she remarries).
The UCC aims to provide protection to vulnerable sections as envisaged by Ambedkar including women and religious minorities, while also promoting nationalistic fervour through unity. When enacted the code will work to simplify laws that are segregated at present on the basis of religious beliefs like the Hindu code bill, Shariat law, and others. The code will simplify the complex laws around marriage ceremonies, inheritance, succession, adoptions making them one for all. The same civil law will then be applicable to all citizens irrespective of their faith. India faces a serious problem with personal laws due to their bias toward the upper-class patriarchal conceptions of society in all religions. As may be seen, panchayats continue to issue verdicts that violate our constitution, and no action is taken. Human rights are abused throughout our country through honour killings and female foeticide. By legalising personal laws, we’ve established a parallel court system based on thousands of ancient values. By eliminating all loopholes, the universal civil code would tip the balance in favour of society. While Muslims are permitted to marry many times in India, a Hindu or a Christian will face prosecution for doing the same. Similarly, there are significant disparities between many religious-related regulations. Equal laws in the areas of marriage, inheritance, family, and land are required. Here UCC serves as a saviour, bringing everything under one roof and assisting not only in ensuring greater equity but also in streamlining the legislative and judicial processes. The concept of a uniform civil code will also aid in reducing vote bank politics, which is practised by most political parties during every election. If all religions are subject to the same laws, there will be no room for politicising issues of discrimination, concessions, or special privileges enjoyed by a particular community on the basis of their religious personal laws. A Uniform Civil Code has become the hallmark of a modern progressive nation’s legal structure. It demonstrates the nation’s transition away from caste and religious politics. While our economic growth has been the fastest in the world, our social development has been non-existent. Indeed, it is possible to argue that we have degraded socially and culturally to the point where we are neither modern nor traditional. A unified civil code will aid in the advancement of society and help India achieve its goal of becoming a developed nation. As we all know, secularism is a critical aspect of our nation, as reflected in our constitution’s preamble. At the moment, we practise selective secularism, which means that we are secular in some areas but not in others. A Uniform Civil Code requires all citizens of India to adhere to the same set of laws, regardless of whether they follow Hinduism, Islam, Christianity or Sikhism. A Uniform Civil Code does not mean that people’s freedom of religion will be restricted; it simply means that everyone will be treated equally. That is authentic secularism. Additionally, as previously stated, in modern classification laws and religion are two distinct concepts, and thus entwining them will result in social disruption and inequality.
India is a country of diverse culture where the beliefs of the people are too vehement but with the right communication and education to all the religious groups, the implementation can take place efficiently and effectively. Special Marriage Act which has been enacted is hardly seen into practice since it is a mere option and not requisite, which further shows the importance of Uniform Civil Code. Thereafter, the culture of spreading inadequate information shall be dealt with regardless as it has become a trend in the country and could result to hindering proper implementation of the requisite laws like Uniform Civil Code. Uniform Civil Code is not a step to make India a Hindu State rather to bring about unity between different religions along with application of same provisions for all, leading to simplification of law and order for better results in the nation. Fear of the certain section of society who are subjected to the special rights, shall be addressed since such rights will have no impact or interference by enactment of the Uniform Civil Code, which shall be ensured to the society as this is one of their Fundamental Rights as under Article 15 of the Indian Constitution. Right to Religion under Article 25 of the Indian Constitution is not specifically for men but also females of the nation. The lack of political will to implement Uniform Civil Code is quite evident, it is important for the government to take strong steps rather than fearing the sensitive issues, keeping the prosperity of the nation and its people in mind such step shall be encouraged. Eminent Jurist from all the religion shall form a committee to bring together the Uniform Civil Code so that all the religions are kept in mind while drafting the Uniform Civil Code without any personal biases towards a particular religion. Uniform Civil Code is surely a sensitive issue but with the right information and communication it can bring about an ever lasting change in the nation along with the right growth and development. The developed countries like USA, Canada, Australia, UK, Russia etc. have adopted the Uniform Civil Code as a developing law for the betterment of their society, culture, religion and to remove discrimination amongst the communities. Uniform Civil Code is the only reason for these countries to achieve their higher goals. USA have a secular law that applied equally and uniformly upon all the citizens of their state. The USA have English common law, which makes every person equal and remove the discrimination between the majority and minorities. Even people from other countries also have to follow common law of their country. Because of uniform civil code USA has achieved its goals and is successful in developing in all aspects which include economically, socially and religiously as well. In India Goa is the only state in India having Uniform Civil Code as special marriage act 1954 is applicable all over the Goa. This was introduced by Portuguese in 1870 as goa family law but after the liberation of Goa this law was retained and became special marriage act in 1954. This marriage acts provides a civil marriage of two person of different sex irrespective of their religion. This law prevail in Indian to have their marriage outside the customs of their personal law. This law is still followed in Goa as it punishes polygamy which means having more than one spouse at a time. Hence no person can have more than one marriage at a time. Also this act states that at the time of divorce both husband and wife will be treated equally with regards to property and will not be discriminated. However, this act discriminates on a ground that a Hindu male can have more than one spouse living if the earlier wife fails to deliver a boy till she attain the age of 30 years, this shows that even this civil act is discriminatory.
Our country has diverse culture, tradition, religion to make them more progressive then, we need to remove discrimination on basis of religion, caste, sex. Uniform Civil Code is the modern way to treat everyone equal in every aspect. UCC involves secularism, it is both glorified as well as criticised but in today’s scenario implementation of UCC is must to stop the internal war of the country and to make the nation growing traditionally as well as economically. Some communities think that Uniform Civil Code is ban for them as it is against their religion. Nevertheless it is modernization of their religious law which will boost up their equality and will make them rich traditionally and socially. According to Article 14 of the Indian constitution, every single citizen is equal in the eyes of law and court. But in India, we have personal laws based on the particular religion. For example, a Muslim can marry multiple times and he will not be prosecuted but if there is any Hindu, Christian or Sikh then he will be prosecuted by the court which is against the saying of Article 14 of Indian constitution. This is not equality in real means. If we want equality then there should be the same laws related to marriage, adoption, divorce, inheritance, family, land etc. Then the exact definition of equality will be defined. In some aspects personal laws are violation of article 14 of the constitution of India. Taking into account as stated by The Supreme Court judge-Justice Y.V. Chandrachud, rightly remarked, a common civil code will also help in strengthening the cause of national integration by removing conflicting interests. So to address the concerned controversy over UCC we would like to conclude by stating that the manner in which UCC was dealt with by the British in 1840, the issue is discussed with same apprehensions even 200 years later. The Shariat Application Act of 1937 protects the application of different laws as far as the Muslim Personal Law is concerned, but despite this, many personal laws of Muslims have been codified. The last in the row is the law of 2019, protecting Muslim women’s right of marriage. Equal rights to property for Hindu women come in bits and pieces. In 1935, Hindu women got limited right to property. In 1956, she got equal absolute right to property in succession and finally, a daughter got equal rights to the coparcenary property and agricultural or rural lands in 2005. Equal rights cannot be ensured just by one stroke. It requires consistent efforts and commitment for a long period of time. Our purpose of giving the example of Hindu law dealing with right to property of women was to emphasise that there was no unification in property rights of Hindu women. It was different at different points in time. UCC is something which can never be answered in a straight Yes or No. It has no one word answer. It is a process which has been going on and must continue to ensure rights of all members of society. The unification of code is not possible until society is serious about codification of the code. Codification is a pre-requisite for unification.
Our country has diverse culture, tradition, religion. To make them more progressive we need to remove discrimination on the basis of religion, caste, sex. Uniform Civil Code is the modern way to treat everyone equal in every aspect. UCC involves secularism, it is both glorified as well as criticised but in today’s scenario implementation of UCC is must to stop the internal war of the country and to make the nation grow traditionally as well as economically.
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