The future of a Uniform Civil Code (UPSC Current Affairs)

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Why in the News?

The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand recently appointed a committee to prepare the state's Uniform Civil Code (UCC) draft. Several BJP-controlled state politicians have advocated for a United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UCC) in India.

What is the Uniform Civil Code?

• Uniform civil code (UCC) is the set of personal laws which is based on common ideals for property, marriage, divorce, inheritance and succession for all religions.
• Article 44 of the Indian constitution mentions UCC and leaves it to the state for its implementation.

What are the steps taken so far towards UCC in India?

• Parliament so far is unable to enact the Uniform CIvil code. But Parliament has enacted the various legislation on Personal laws related to marriage, divorce succussion and property for nearly all religions.
• For Interfaith Marriage: Parliament enacted a Civil MarriageAct 1954, The Special Marriage Act and the Indian Succession Act. As a secular alternative, these enactments were made available to all Indian people. As a result, these acts collectively constitute an optional UCC for all Indians.
• For Religious Marriage: The Parliament also enacted a new law called the Hindu Marriage Act in 1955 to regulate religious marriages among the Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs.
• For Succession: A Hindu Succession Act came into force regulating the properties of those covered by the Hindu Marriage Act 1955.

What are the issues in the central personal laws?

There are certain issues in these enacted Central personal laws which are related to the marriage, property, divorece.

• The Special Marriage Act is clearly discriminatory in some cases. It mentions the degree of marriage between close relatives that is prohibited (similar to the Hindu Marriage Act). Marriages between distant cousins are also not prohibited by the Act. Thus, despite religious ban, a Hindu can marry a second cousin, whereas a Muslim cannot marry a first cousin despite religious authorization.
• The Hindu Marriage Act relaxes the prohibition on prohibited degrees based on custom, although the Special Marriage Act does not.
• During the Emergency time, the Special Marriage (Amendment) Act permitted the Hindu Succession Act to govern both parties' (if Hindu) properties instead of the Indian Succession Act. This was a step backwards.

What are the arguments in favour of the state proposals to enact UCC?

• Personal laws related to the family and succession are placed in the concurrent list in the constitution of India.
• Since the Central laws related to succession and marriage are facing various issues. The States can enact the laws related to it.
• In several places of the country, archaic foreign laws nevertheless apply to Indian citizens. As a result, such a code might be implemented at the state level.

What are the issues in proposals for the state-level uniform civil code laws?

• A state-level UCC appears to be incompatible with Article 44 of the Constitution on the surface.
• The Article 44 calls for a single civil code for citizens across India's entire territory.
• Family and succession laws are jointly governed by the Centre and the states under the Constitution. As a result, Parliament can pass laws that apply to the entire country.
• Family and succession laws will vary from state to state and also with Centre’s laws, this would amount to more confusion then resolving the present issues.

What are the Challenges in the implementation of Uniform Civil Code?

• Diverse personal laws: Uniformity of any kind is difficult to attain due to the wide range of personal laws and the devotion with which they are followed. Finding a common ground amongst diverse communities is quite difficult.
• False Perception: Many people still have misconceptions about what the unified civil code actually implies. There are still incorrect views about it, particularly among minorities, making a reasonable discussion about its implementation difficult.
• Fundamental rights violation:There is concern that the universal civil code will infringe on the fundamental rights of conscience, free profession, practise, and spread of faiths (Article 25), and the freedom to administer religious affairs (Article 26).
• Opposition from Religious groups: This is one of the most basic and evident obstacles to overcome when bringing up the UCC. Fundamentalism, which is deeply established in many Indian religions, does not appear to be fading even in the twenty-first century.
• Political willpower: The government may lack the resolve to confront the repercussions of repealing the main faiths' personal laws and persuade the public of the justice and reform they seek to bring to society in order to improve as a nation.
• Encroachment on religious liberty: Many people, particularly minorities, see the Uniform Civil Code as an infringement on their religious liberty. They are concerned that a common code will ignore minority traditions and impose regulations imposed and influenced mostly by the majority faith communities.

Way forward

• Awareness: To reform present personal law reforms, major public awareness activities are required, which should be led by the communities themselves.
• Gradual approach: The transition from a heterogeneous civil code to a uniform civil code must be gradual and not happen overnight. As a result, the government will have to take a piecemeal approach.
• Law Commission’s recommendations: The panel emphasises efforts to integrate the country's diversity with universal human rights arguments.
  • It advocated for the codification of all personal laws in order to expose prejudices and stereotypes in all religions.
  • They will eventually be put to the test against the anvil of the constitution's fundamental rights.
  • It could aid in the development of universal principles.
  • Instead of imposing UCC, these may make it easier to prioritise equity.

Small modifications, eliminating some underlying absurdity in some personal laws and making them acceptable for current times, would be a wiser route. Disparities between different religions should be addressed as well. This could establish the groundwork for later implementation of a UCC.