Uniform Civil Code

By Sapnakumari

I am going to talk about Uniform Civil Code (UCC), First of all I would give you introduction then history of UCC and what were the arguments, when it came in force, how other religions derived, in which part we read about UCC under constitution. And why UCC is not kept in Fundamental Rights, what were the two rights for which UCC in contradiction and most important I'm mentioning some case laws which we get better understanding about UCC Role in India, and the last of the blog talks about Goa UCC. To read these points in deep lets go through the whole ARTICLE. Let us make an in depth study about the UCC.

A uniform Civil Code here refers to a single law, which is applicable to all citizens of India in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, custody, adoption and inheritance.

Basically uniform Civil Code is intended to replace the system of fragmented personal laws which currently govern interpersonal relationships and related matters within different religious communities.

History Of Uniform Civil Code

So if we talk about the British contribution, then British government submitted its report in 1835 stressing the need for uniformity in the codification of various Indian laws, but they put some questions on personal laws that personal law should be kept outside codification due to vast diversity in practises.

In 1441 when B.N.Rau committee came with a view to codify Hindu law after that on Rau's recommendation, The Hindu succession act 1956 was amended. Then the codification of the law relating to intestate or unwilled succession, among Hindus, Buddhist, Jain's and Sikhs

Now I'm going to throw some light on How other communities are governed or derivedÂ. Here different communities in India are currently governed by a system of personal laws, which have been codified over the years through various pieces of legislation.

These laws largely focus on the following areas like:

Marriage and Divorce
Succession and Inheritance,
Adoption and Maintenance and
Custody and Guardianship.

So, how Hindu, Sikhs, Jain's and Buddhist derived, We have seen Hindu personal law is codified in four bills i.e., The Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu succession act, Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act and Hindu adoption and Maintenance Act. The term ËœHindu' also includes Sikhs, Jain's and Buddhist for the purpose of these laws.

If we talk about Muslim personal law then personal law is not qualified and it basically based on their religious texts such as Shariat Application Act and Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act.

Now come to Christian Marriages Act and divorces they are governed by the Indian Christian marriage Act and the Indian divorce act. While Zorostrians (Parsi) are subject to the Parsi Marriage and The Divorce Act, there are some Secular laws like a Special Marriage Act; under which inter-religion marriages takes place and the guardians and wards act which basically establish is the rights and duties of guardians.

Constitution Provisions Of Uniform Civil Code

Now come to the constitution provision of uniform Civil Code, why uniform Civil Code kept with DPSP chapter.

Article 44 of Indian Constitution

The states shall endeavour to secure for the citizens are Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India.
Uniform Civil Code is listed as one of the D.P.S.P in the constitution and therefore it cannot be enforced in a court of law.
Why Uniform Civil Code is not kept in Fundamental Right or why not constitutional important principle, why it is in D.P.S.P. The whole issue of Uniform Civil Code comes down to the contradiction between two sets of rights- Individual Rights and Collective Rights or Group Rights.
Individual Rights: Right of Muslim Women against Polygamy, against triple Talaq, Right of inherit property.
Collective Rights: Right to religious community as a whole i.e., right to community to have their cultural and religious law preserved.

Constitution Assembly Debates

Debate regarding the Uniform Civil Code as a Fundamental Rights which is settled by a vote, by a 5:4 majority the Fundamental Rights Sub - Committee headed by Sardar Vallabhai Patel and he held that the provision was outside the scope of Fundamental Rights.

Some relevant case laws:

Mohammed Ahmed Khan versus Shah Bano Begum And Ors on 23 April, 1985
Sarla Mudgal versus union of India and Ors. On 10 May, 1995
Shabnam Hashmi Versus Union Of India &Others On 19 February, 2014
Shayara bano versus Union of India and ors. On 22 august, 2017

So here we are going to see Goa uniform Civil Code
Goa is at present the only state in India with a uniform Civil Code. In Goa, the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867, which continues to be implemented after India annexed the territory in 1961, which applies to all Goan's irrespective of their religion or ethnic community.

Q. What are the provisions of the act?
Under the civil code marriage is a contract between two persons of different sex that is men and a woman with the purpose of living together and constitute a legitimate family together. And Polygamy or Bigamy is strictly prohibited except for certain except special cases. Monogamy is the prescribed form of marriage and men cannot marry before they attain the age of 21 and the same is 18 in the case of woman. And the most important is consent required from both men and women before and at the time of marriage when the talks about property, then the law of communion of assets came; means as soon as the person gets married his spouse automatically gets half of the assets. And for filing divorce both husband and wife consent is important and there must be proper grounds.

Last but not least, in this article I want to say that Uniform Civil Code is a broader concept and we can't write or describe in few pages, so my last point is we need to come up with this code, to make our nation strong and this is the milestone in the success of healthy Nation. I want to say that all things depend on implementation or enforcement of the code with proper rules because this code has given hope to many people.

Award Winning Article Is Written By: Ms.Sapna Kumari