Uniform Civil Code (UCC), as defined under Article 44 of the Indian Constitution states that it is the duty of the state to secure the Uniform Civil Code for the citizens of India. It aims toward “One Nation- One Law”. Personal laws are distinguished from public law and cover marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, and maintenance.
The debate around UCC started with the Shah Bano case wherein the apex court called for the implementation of UCC. In this particular case, Shah Bano was refused payment of alimony by her ex-husband after the divorce. The Supreme Court, in its judgement, said, “A Common Civil Code will help the cause of national integration by removing disparate loyalties to laws which have conflicting ideologies.”
The efforts of the Supreme Court were thwarted by the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government which passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986 further restricting the rights of female Muslims. Despite this, the case proved to be historical for UCC supporters.
In the backdrop of extrajudicial talaqs, the hijab row, and other recent incidents the discourse around Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has intensified. The truth remains, UCC has acquired centre stage in the Indian legal scenario, the reason for this in some cases is politically driven and in others the betterment of the people. The time to streamline this discussion and make this vision a reality has surely arrived.
In a heterogeneous nation like India, the citizens include people from different religions, castes, ethnicities, and cultures. As enshrined in our Constitution, the idea is to gradually implement a uniform civil code to be in succession of the existing customs which are specific to religion, caste, and gender diversities into a uniform set of rules and regulations for all as equal.
Extrajudcial Talaqs and UCC
Talking about personal laws, the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgement of Shayara Bano vs Union of India, 2017 struck down talaq-e-biddat, an extra-judicial instantneous divorce practice where a Muslim man could divorce his wife by uttering the word “talaq” three times in one sitting without his wife’s knowledge or consent and the divorce was irrevocable.
A petition has been filed on similar grounds in Benazeer Heena vs Union of India 2022, where the petitioner has moved the Supreme Court challenging the extra-judicial divorce practice of talaq-e-hasan, in which a Muslim man can pronounce the word talaq, once every 30 days or every lunar cycle, consecutively for 3 months and the divorce is affirmed, with the only condition that there should be no cohabitation. The petitioner has gone ahead and sought directions from the Centre to frame guidelines and uniform grounds of divorce procedure for all citizens.
Hijab Row and UCC
The issue that caught the eye of the nation was the hijab ban. It started with a few female students not being allowed entry as they did not comply with the rule of the uniform prescribed by the college. What it resulted into was a nationwide debate surrounding freedom of religion, expression and what counts as an essential religious practice.
The Karnataka High Court judgement, upholding the ban, has laid down specifications as it explicitly mentions that “the object of prescribing uniform will be defeated if there is non-uniformity in the matter of uniforms.”
Implementing UCC
It is pertinent to note that the State of Goa is the first and so far, the only State to implement a uniform civil code since its liberation from the Portuguese in 1961. The Supreme Court has even hailed Goa as a shining example where the uniform civil code is applicable to all, regardless of religion except while protecting certain limited rights.
The States of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have also emphasised upon the UCC being the need of the hour and how their state governments wish to take appropriate measures in furtherance of its implementation.
The reason why Hindu Code Bill was introduced in the Constituent Assembly on 11th April, 1947 by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was to liberalise the personal laws and broaden the freedom of the individual. It is also meant to address the issue of equality of men and women in the Hindu social system.
It is highly unfortunate that religious conservatism has kept women at the wrong end of the bargain. UCC should serve to remedy this issue and should build a foundation for gender parity in Indian society.
UCC should promote the fundamental rights of women across all religions, castes, and classes of society. It should give them an equal right to inheritance, decisions in marriage, divorce, adoption, etc. This can bring in the required economic and social change in society and ameliorate the situation of women in India.
Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh governments have been talking about implementing UCC in their respective states. The Uttarakhand cabinet has even agreed unanimously to implement UCC. But a central level implementation would be more helpful in comparison to state-wide implementation. It will provide equal status to its citizens irrespective of their religion, class, caste, gender, etc.
Finally, with so much diversity, India needs something like a UCC which can work as an agent to promote uniformity and to some extent mute the sound pollution created by the religious radical forces.
Judiciary will also be better off with lesser litigation originating from religious customs and personal laws. The nation can also focus on more important issues such as economy, quality of life of its citizens, and politics of development.
Advocate Satya Muley is the founder of the legal firm Satya Muley & Co based out of Pune, Maharashtra and a practising lawyer in Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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