Uttarakhand is set to have a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in place. The five-member panel, led by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, which was established in 2022 to develop the UCC framework, recently submitted its final draft report to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. A special four-day legislative session has been convened from February 5-8 to pass the UCC legislation.
Goa has been the only Indian state to have a UCC in the form of a common family law known as the Goa Civil Code (GCC), which was enacted in 1867 and remains in effect today. The GCC transcends religious boundaries and governs various aspects of civil law, including marriage, succession, inheritance, and divorce.
The panel responsible for assessing the feasibility of implementing the Uttarakhand draft UCC solicited input from the general public and received approximately 2.3 lakh written suggestions, equivalent to nearly 10 percent of the state's families. Numerous face-to-face interactions and meetings were also conducted to gauge public opinion on the UCC. However, it is important to note that scheduled tribes, comprising 2.9 percent of the population, have been excluded from the UCC's scope, in accordance with Article 44 of the Constitution, which permits states to introduce the UCC.
Reports indicate that the Uttarakhand draft recommends a complete ban on polygamy and polyandry while establishing a uniform marriageable age for girls across all religions. The draft mandates compulsory marriage registrations and guarantees a maintenance allowance for women of all faiths. Common grounds and procedures for divorce are also proposed.
The proposed bill seeks to make offenses like halala, iddat (the waiting period following the dissolution of a Muslim marriage), and triple talaq punishable. It may also include provisions that ensure equal treatment of men and women regarding property and inheritance matters and could potentially regulate live-in relationships.
Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, who filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on UCC in the Supreme Court, asserts that the adoption of a uniform civil code would significantly enhance the status of women in India. He argues that archaic religious and personal laws are discriminatory and detrimental to women's rights. The implementation of the Uttarakhand UCC would provide equal rights to women regardless of their religious affiliation and potentially set the stage for a nationwide UCC.
Evolution of UCC
The objective behind implementing the UCC is to establish a uniform set of laws governing personal matters, such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption, for all citizens, irrespective of their religious beliefs. This initiative aims to promote gender equality, social justice, and ultimately foster a harmonious society - a vision shared by democratic nations. During the drafting of the Constitution, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar supported the adoption of the UCC, but it faced opposition from Muslim representatives in the Constituent Assembly, who viewed it as an intrusion into their personal laws. Consequently, a single line was included in the Constitution under Article 44 in the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP), emphasizing the state's duty to strive for a Uniform Civil Code for its citizens throughout the country.
However, as DPSP is not legally enforceable in courts, this aspiration remained unrealized. Post-independence, there was a perception that the UCC was anti-minority. Subsequent governments at the central level continued to rely on various personal laws rooted in the religious customs and practices of different communities, thereby neglecting the issue of gender equality.
The Shah Bano case marked a turning point, as it challenged the conventional practice of deciding cases based on the interpretation of personal laws and underscored the necessity of implementing the UCC. In 1985, the Supreme Court, in its landmark ruling, granted alimony to a Muslim woman. However, the central government later reversed this decision through a retrograde law in 1986, ostensibly to appease certain segments of society.
Political Slugfest
The BJP's call for the UCC gained momentum in 1985 following the Shah Bano case. The BJP labeled the UCC as a progressive step and included it in its 1989 manifesto, promising to enact it once in power. Although the resolution seeking a Commission for framing a UCC law was tabled by the BJP in Parliament in 1993, it was not adopted. The BJP vigorously pursued the UCC only during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tenure when it had a majority in the Lok Sabha. Conversely, parties like the Congress, Left, and TMC, most of which are part of the present INDIA bloc, opposed the UCC, as they believed it affected their vote bank politics.
The implementation of the Uttarakhand UCC is likely to influence Assam, where Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has already appointed a four-member expert committee to assess the legislative competence of the state legislature to enact a similar law. Like Uttarakhand, 12 percent of Assam's tribal population will also be exempted from the UCC.
Similarly, states such as Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh have established committees to explore the possibility of implementing the UCC. Legally and constitutionally, states have the authority to formulate the UCC. The Supreme Court, in dismissing a PIL challenging the validity of the Dhami government's panel, cited Article 162 of the Constitution, which grants executive power to states in matters within their legislative jurisdiction. The Constitution's Entry 5 of the Concurrent List in the Seventh Schedule grants states the authority to enact laws on these subjects, provided they are in conformity with any corresponding central laws.
With ongoing discussions about the UCC, the Goa Civil Code and the Uttarakhand UCC are being held up as models for other states to adopt a uniform and gender-neutral civil code, with the potential for eventual national implementation.
"If Parliament comes with appropriate legislation backed by constitutional support of the entries in List 1 to the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, UCC can be implemented at the national level," says Atmaram NS Nadkarni, senior advocate and also a former advocate general of Goa.
"A national UCC will simplify laws that are segregated at present on the basis of religious beliefs. In Goa, it has worked well for all the communities," adds Mr Nadkarni.
A UCC would abolish discriminatory practices that undermine women's rights and ensure equal opportunities and protections for them. In our diverse society, there is a need for a unified legal framework that promotes social cohesion and national integration.
(Bharti Mishra Nath is a senior journalist)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.