Uniform Civil Court

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is the proposal to replace the personal laws with a common law for property, marriage, divorce, inheritance and succession for all religions. Article 44 of the Constitution of India mentions that the State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India. Both the Union and State Governments have the power to enact laws on issues related to marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption etc. under the Item 5 of the Concurrent List (Seventh Schedule). The Governments of several States are contemplating on the enactment of UCC in their respective States.

• The demand for a Uniform Civil Code was first put forward by women activists in the beginning of the twentieth century, with the objective of women’s rights, equality and secularism. 
• The Constituent Assembly had put the UCC under the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) having considered the UCC as desirable but voluntary.

Advantages of implementing the UCC

• Equality: India is a secular democracy. A common civil and personal law in India would ensure equality among all its citizens, irrespective of their religion, class, caste, gender etc.
• Reduce Gender Discrimination: Personal laws of almost all religions are discriminatory towards women. Men are usually granted upper status in personal laws. Uniform civil code will bring both men and women at par and would reduce discrimination against women.
• Societal Reforms: Existing personal laws are mainly based on the patriarchal notions of the society in all religions. 
• Simplify Legal Matters: UCC will simplify the cumbersome legal matters governed by personal laws. It will also help in speedy disposal of cases and reduce burden on the judiciary.
• National Integration: A Uniform Civil Code will eliminate the scope of politicisation of issues of perceived discrimination or concessions/special privileges enjoyed by communities on the basis of their religious personal laws.

Challenges 

• Diverse Personal Laws and Customary Practices: There is huge diversity in the customary practices among communities across India. This makes uniformity very difficult to achieve. 
• False Perceptions: There are still false perceptions about the UCC among the communities. This makes a rational debate on its implementation quite difficult.
• Violation of Fundamental Rights: There is an apprehension that the uniform civil code may be in conflict with the fundamental rights of freedom of conscience of free profession, practice and propagation of religions (Article 25), and the freedom to manage religious affairs (Article 26).
• Political Willpower: The Judiciary has asked the Government multiple times to enact a UCC. The government lacks the will to face the consequences of abolishing the personal laws of the religions and to convince the people about the benefits of UCC.

UCC in its true spirit, must be brought about by making gradual changes. As recommended by the Law Commission, the focus should be on ending discriminatory practices against women, rather than enforcing uniformity. Resolve the contentious issues like UCC, common consensus of all the stakeholders is needed.