UNIFORM CIVIL CODE (UCC)

This article was written by Srabana Dutta, a student of Amity University, Kolkata

INTRODUCTION-

The ideology behind Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is “One Nation, One Law”. This means that all the citizens of the country irrespective of their religions, sex, caste and creed will be governed by the same law. Thus the concept behind Uniform Civil Code is to bring uniformity in the country and equal treatment for all.

UCC acts as an umbrella in matters of personal laws such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, succession, adoption, maintenance governing the whole nation.

While drafting the Constitution of India, the need of an UCC was felt and was stressed upon by the makers of the Constitution. But because of much political opposition and disagreeing it had to be inserted in the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP). So, finally UCC was stated in Article 44 of DPSP. This gave a chance to the State to implement UCC all throughout the country in future.

UCC has always remained a controversial issue from a very long time. The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) is in favour of its enactment. It is of the opinion that UCC will be successful in reducing the gender inequality, and various sections of society which were given unequal treatment will also come under control.

SECULARISM IN INDIA-

India is a secular country where people are given the choice of religion. Citizens of India can practice, preach and propagate freely any religion of their choice. All the religions are given equal importance. The main motive behind this is building harmony and a feeling of brotherhood among all citizens. Here, the state has neutral view in subjects of religious groups. So, India came to be a land of diversity.

There are many religions that exist in India. All religions have their own personal laws and this is the reason why people are governed by different personal laws in the matters like- marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance, succession.

Except for personal laws, citizens of India are governed by the same laws. So the supporters of UCC are of the opinion that there is inequality in the subject of personal laws of religion and that there should be a proper civil code which would govern people of every religion.

 GOA CIVIL CODE-

Throughout India, Goa is the only state having a Uniform Civil Code which is also known as Goa family court. This means there is a uniform law regarding the subjects of personal law that govern all the people of Goa irrespective of their religion. Goa civil code has come from the Portuguese civil code. This is because before 1961, Goa was governed by the Portuguese and hence the civil code continued to exist even when they left.

In 1961, Goa became a part of Union Territory and the Parliament authorized the Portuguese civil code of 1867. Goa also got the freedom to amend and repeal some of its laws by the competent authority.

Marriages are like a contract here. If two people of different sex, come together with the intention of living, and constituting a family then both the parties have to register their marriage in the office of Civil Registrar as a contract. Both the parties should accept and abide by the rules. Only when the rules are accepted by both of them, they can call it as a marriage and can start living together as husband and wife.

Here, Hindu men have the permission of bigamy if the wife fails to deliver a child before 25, or a male child before 30. This is very different from the rest of the India.

LANDMARK CASES-

Mohd Ahmed Khan v Shah Bano Begum-

Shah Bano Begum was Muslim divorce woman who when unable to maintain herself and her children went to file a suit against her previous husband under Section 125 of The Criminal Procedure. The lower court and the Madhya Pradesh High Court gave their decision in her favour and said that her husband is entitled to maintain Shah Bano Begum and her children. Then the husband appealed to the Supreme Court; going by Section 125 of The Criminal Procedure the SC was of the verdict that the husband has to maintain his wife even beyond the iddat period. This was strongly opposed by the Muslim community of the country as they believed that the Indian judiciary is interfering with their religious laws and matters. After the judgment there were protests all over the country. To suppress these protests, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights and Divorce) Act, 1986 was enacted which stated that a Muslim husband is only entitled to maintain his wife till the iddat period unless both the husband and wife agree to be governed by Section 125 of The Criminal Procedure. It was as this point of time the country felt the need of a UCC  which would have similar laws for all the religions.

DANIAL LATIFI V UNION OF INDIA-

In this case the constitutional validity of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights and Divorce) Act, 1986 was challenged. It was decided by the Supreme Court that the divorced Muslim women is entitled to get maintenance from her husband till the time she remarries. If she does not remarry then she is entitled to the maintenance till her lifetime.

SARLA MUDGAL V UNION OF INDIA-

A Hindu husband having a valid marriage converted himself to Islam and had a second wife from the second marriage. The Supreme Court declared the second marriage as null and void as the conversion into Islam was to take the benefit of bigamy. He was then liable of offence committed under Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code.

LILY THOMAS V UNION OF INDIA-

It was a similar case like Sarla Mudgal v U.O.I. It was in this case that people understood the need of UCC, as there were cases of religion conversion to take the advantage of a particular sacred religion. Many people understood that UCC is needed to bring harmony and religious equality.

ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST UCC-

IN FAVOUR OF UCC- UCC creates a feeling of brotherhood among people; it generates harmony and help in uniting the whole nation. The presence of UCC denotes the mark of a progressive nation where there is no religious and social disparity. It also helps in reducing the gender inequality. It aims to give equal rights and improve the social conditions of women. The objective is to give equal treatment to all the citizens of India irrespective of their religion or social standing.

The presence of UCC will bring uniformity in laws and would make the task of Indian judiciary easier to administer justice.

AGAINST UCC- UCC can give rise to political upheavals as people are of the view that its implementation will make the State interfere with religious matters. This will result in affecting the religious sentiments and will become a ground for protests.

So the civil code if implemented should take into account all these situations while drafting. Otherwise it will only result in bloodshed and violence all over the country.

CONCLUSION-

Like all controversial issues Uniform Civil Code has its own pros and cons. The Law Commission of India stated that the UCC is “neither necessary nor desirable at this stage”. Indians are sentimental about their religions and are not adoptive to changes. If implemented, UCC can create political opposition. Thus the government refrains itself from implementing this.

On the other hand UCC helps in integrating the country and will bring a sense of harmony and uniformity among people belonging to different religions and social standard.

Indian judiciary also got the opportunity to implement UCC, when it abolished instant triple talaq. It was felt that Muslim men are taking advantage of Muslim women by this. But even on that occasion implementation of UCC was avoided. This shows that the government in the fear of political upheavals and unnecessary violence is avoiding the establishment of Uniform Civil Code.