GS Paper II

News Excerpt:

The Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly has cleared the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, becoming the first state to adopt a UCC post-independence.

Key highlights of the Uttarakhand UCC bill:

• What is Uniform?

• • Across all religions:
    • Adoption rights
    • Legal age of marriage for men (21) and women (18)
    • Equal inheritance rights for men and women

• What is Banned?

• • Marriage and divorce practices that come under Muslim Personal Law, such as halala, iddat, and triple talaq.
  • Child marriage and polygamy

• What is Unique?

• • All live-in relationships must be registered within a month, or else both partners are liable to ₹25k fine and/or three months in jail.
  • All children born to live-in couples will be considered legitimate and receive legal inheritance rights.

• Who is Excluded?

• Uttarakhand's Scheduled Tribes, which comprise nearly 3% of the state's population, are outside the purview of the UCC bill.
• The State’s UCC is based on a draft submitted by a committee formed by the Uttarakhand government under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai.
• The committee submitted its final report to the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand on February 2.

Concerns raised around Uttarakhand UCC:

• With the UCC in place, the in-laws of the woman can force her to take up a legal fight with her parents for property.
  • The in-laws can harass the woman even now.

• Exclusion criteria:
• Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) has been kept out of it. A law cannot be uniform if it doesn’t apply to the majority of the State.
• HUF is a legal entity that allows Hindu taxpayers to claim beneficial tax treatment.
• Bill leaves the tribal population out of its ambit, even while claiming that it would apply to the whole of the State.
• This Bill contradicted Central laws like the Shariah Act, the Hindu Marriage Act and the Special Marriage Act.

Views On UCC:

Constituent Assembly and Constitution:

• The Constituent Assembly witnessed a lengthy discussion on a common civil code while adopting it as a directive principle.
• When the said Article was being discussed, several members (Mohamad Ismail-Madras, Naziruddin Ahmad-West Bengal) suggested adopting a common civil code with a caveat that it would apply to citizens with prior consent.
• KM Munshi said that Hindus themselves have their separate laws.
• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar underlined the possibility that a future Parliament could make provisions for applying the UCC in a “purely voluntary” manner.
• Article 44 of the Constitution states that the state shall endeavour to secure a UCC for citizens throughout the territory of India.

Supreme Court Judgments:

• Shah Bano case (1985): SC stated, “A common Civil Code will help the cause of national integration by removing disparate loyalties to laws which have conflicting ideologies”.
• Sarla Mudgal v Union of India (1995): SC said that the need for a UCC “can hardly be doubted”.
• Jose Paulo Coutinho v. Maria Luiza Valentina Pereira (2019): The Court hailed Goa as a “shining example” where “the uniform civil code is applicable to all, regardless of religion except while protecting certain limited rights” and accordingly urged for its pan-India implementation.

21st Law Commission:

• The 21st Law Commission suggested that UCC is presently deemed unnecessary and not recommended.
• It emphasised reforming family laws across various religions to ensure gender equity.
• It expressed its support for achieving “equality within communities” between men and women instead of pursuing “equality between communities”.

Arguments in favour of UCC:

• UCC is a constitutional objective aimed at ensuring equitable justice for all communities. It will promote the integration of India by establishing a shared platform for diverse communities.
• In different rulings, like the famous Shah Bano case from 1985, Sarla Mudgal case (1995) and Paulo Coutinho vs. Maria Luiza Valentina Pereira case (2019), the Supreme Court has asked for the UCC to be in place. In the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), the SC stated that a UCC “is essentially desirable in the interest of the integrity and unity of the country”.
• In 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional jurisdiction of states to establish committees to examine the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code. E.g. Uttarakhand Govt. and Gujarat Govt.
• To ensure equitable dispensation of justice to women from diverse religious backgrounds, encompassing matters such as marital conflicts and property inheritance disputes, consent, the age of marriage, divorce, guardianship and custody of children.
• Uniform Civil Codes are followed in countries like the US, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Turkey, Indonesia, Egypt, and Ireland. Several countries, including Morocco and Tunisia, have implemented laws that promote gender equality.
• The idea of UCC is not new to India; it already exists in Goa.

Arguments against UCC:

• The Sixth Schedule provides certain protections to some states; the 21st Law Commission paper said that while framing laws, it must be remembered that cultural diversity cannot be compromised.
• UCC is perceived as infringing on the constitutional right to exercise one’s chosen religion freely.
• Article 25 grants each religious collective the entitlement to autonomously administer its internal matters.
• Article 29 defines the right to conserve distinctive culture.
• Including Personal laws in the Concurrent List (Entry No. 5) appears to be motivated by the desire to maintain legal diversity.
• If the primary concern had been the establishment of uniformity in laws, personal laws would have been incorporated into the Union List.
• Tribal cultural traditions and religious practices engage in polygamy and polyandry, which would potentially fall under the purview of a UCC.
• The Adivasis possess distinct personal laws, and there is concern that these practices may also face prohibition.
• Hindu Undivided Family, a legal entity that allows Hindu taxpayers to claim certain benefits, this beneficial tax treatment will be scrutinised on the grounds of equality before tax law and uniformity in application across religions.

Way Forward:

• It is imperative to ensure that certain groups or marginalised segments of society are not subjected to disadvantageous treatment during this endeavour.
• UCC, if implemented, can be made voluntary, and gradually, when citizens accept it, further changes can be made accordingly.
• Communities can come forward and give assurance to reform the regressive personal laws, as the 21st Law Commission suggested.

Prelims PYQ

Q. Consider the following provisions under the Directive Principles of State Policy as enshrined in the Constitution of India: (UPSC 2012)

1. Securing the citizens of India a uniform civil code

2. Organizing village Panchayats

3. Promoting cottage industries in rural areas

4. Securing for all the workers reasonable leisure and cultural opportunities.

Which of the above are the Gandhian Principles that are reflected in the Directive Principles of State Policy?

(a) 1, 2 and 4 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1, 3 and 4 only

(d) 1, 2 , 3 and 4

Mains PYQ

Q. Discuss the possible factors that inhibit India from enacting for its citizen a uniform civil code as provided for in the Directive Principles of State Policy. (UPSC 2015)