Why the Uniform Civil Code as Personal Laws for Everyone?

Introduction:

 India is a secular state, a land where various religions are followed such as Hinduism,    Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Sikhism, Islam etc and it is the core reason why India is called as a secular state after the 42^nd amendment in 1976 the word secular is included in our preamble of the Indian Constitution. The term ‘secular’ means that the state will not follow any particular religion nor discriminate people on the basis of religion they follow, this was also enriched in our Constitution under Article 25 and Article 26.

Personal Laws in India

India is a nation which consists of various religions and customs, religion has been an important part of India’s background and thus every religion has different personal laws in India. Some of the codified personal laws in India pertaining to marriage, adoption, guardianship, divorce, succession and so on[1].

Some of the codified personal laws relating to marriage, divorce, property and inheritance are-:

1. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 – which is applicable to Hindus, Buddhists and Jains but also to any person who is not a Muslims, Christian, Parsi or Jew who is not governed by any other law.
2. Muslim personal law Application Act,1937 – applicable to Indian Muslims
3. The Indian Christian Marriage Act of 1872
4. The Anand Marriage act 1909, applicable to Sikh marriages
5. The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1937

The personal laws are those which manages our own lives like, laws of marriage, maintenance, adoption, guardianship of children and succession. Thus, family law differs from one religion to another.

Uniform Civil Code

In the directive principle of the state policy of the Indian constitution under Article 44, it states that- “the state shall Endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India” and it is the duty of the state to secure the citizens a civil code throughout the territory of India. The basic principle of uniform civil code is that a single law, applicable to all citizens of India in personal matters such as marriage, divorce, custody, adoption and inheritance[2]. The motive and main objective of uniform civil code is to replace the personal laws. Even today after seventy years of independence the concept of uniform civil code is still a dream, which was considered by our constitution makers as a golden thread for unity and integrity of the country[3].

Need for Uniform Civil Code

There are various reasons why there is a need for a uniform civil code. In this 21st century, there is the utmost need to provide-

1. Equal status to all citizens,
2. To promote gender parity,
3. To accumulate the thinking of young population,
4. To have the national integration etc.

Thus, to promote these we need a uniform civil code. Even in this modern era, women are dominated by men in day to day life, even our judiciary has given first preference in case of a matter of succession and inheritance, men are considered as the shareholder and the ruler of the family, society, and community. The implementation of a uniform civil code will help to reduce this gender inequality between men and woman. Article 14 of the Indian constitution states that every single citizen is equal in the eyes of law and court. Whereas India being a secular state have personally based on the particular religion and thus all the laws are separate for separate religion’s and this is known as personal laws, for instance, a Muslim can marry multiple times and he will not be prosecuted but in case of any Hindu, Christian or Sikh then he will be prosecuted by the court, Which is somehow inequality based on the personal laws made which indeed creates discrimination for women and children of different religions. If we want equality then there should be the same laws or uniform laws related to marriage, adoption, divorce, inheritance, family, land etc which will, in turn, provide equality in an actual manner as stated under Article 14 of the Indian Constitution. For the core understanding of the need of the uniform civil code is to –

1. Promotes real secularism
2. Provide equal and same treatment to all citizens
3. Provide more rights to women

There are various advantages and merits in implementation of uniform civil code such as it will help in national integrity, reduce overlapping of laws, will reduce litigation due to personal laws and definitely communalism will come to an end till some extent.  

Uniform Civil Code and Personal Laws

The women are considered as inferior in personal matters as compared to men, especially in terms of the succession, adoption, inheritance and many more. In the year 1955 and 1996, Hindu women do not enjoy equal rights as men under the Hindu Law. Even polygamy was permitted before 1995. The Hindu women could not hold any property as the absolute owner only limited interest is owned by her even in the matter of the desertion of the property mortgaging or selling the property, she does not have any right to do it alone. Even in the matter of adoption or being a natural guardian of her own child during the life of her husband she was not having the right to do so. Even today when the Hindu Law is codified various amendments were made, still various issues are still discriminatory for instance a Hindu woman is not a coparcener in Hindu coparceners.

In India, we have uniform criminal code that is applicable to every citizen of India, but similar code does not exist in relation to divorce and succession that are still governed by the personal laws[4]. Thus, to bring uniformity among the citizens of India Uniform Civil Code must be implemented.

Judiciary on Uniform Civil Code

In the case, Md. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum, the Supreme Court of India had to go against the existing personal laws and gave direction to the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code by highlighting the slogan of ‘one nation, one law’. the apex court provided maintenance claim to a Muslim divorced lady under Section 125 of Cr.P.C, despite prohibition under Muslim personal law which somehow gave influence to the uniformity in the Law irrespective of their personal law.

Similarly, in the case of Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India provisions related to personal laws were challenged. In some cases, the court recommended bringing Uniform Civil Code as a part of the legal system.

Uniform Civil Code in Goa

Goa is the only state in India that has a uniform civil code which means Goa is the only state which has a common family law[5]. Thus, Goa is the only Indian state that has a uniform civil code. All the religion despite having personal laws are bound with the same law related to marriage, divorce, succession in goa. It is the only place where Uniform civil code is implemented. Marriages in Goa is a contract between two people for the purpose of living together and constitute the legitimate family which is register before the office of the civil registrar with particular rules and regulation which has to be followed by the parties to live together but there are certain restrictions as well for instance any spouse convicted of committing or abetting the murder of another spouse shall not marry[6].

Conclusion

India being a secular state needs a uniform Civil Code as well as to implement that UCC in each and every state. Most of the people are not truly ready to adopt secular laws different from religious customs. The Uniform Civil Code can be successfully introduced only once we achieve improved levels of literacy, awareness of several socio-political issues and legitimate discussions and increased social and religious mobility. Uniform Civil Code should be enacted with the motive of ensuring equality and justice to both men and women. In today’s era Uniform Civil Code is the need of the hour, India must have a uniform law dealing with marriage, divorce, succession, inheritance, and maintenance. UCC will help in abolishing discrimination. The implementation and enactment of Uniform Civil Code will analyse the principle of Secularism. Therefore, there is a need of Uniform Civil code according to the present situations and the emerging issues in this modern era.

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References:

            [1] Chhibber, S. (n.d.). Charting a New Path Toward Gender Equality in India: From Religious Personal Laws to Uniform Civil Code. Retrieved August 30, 2020  from http://ilj.law.indiana.edu/articles/83/83_2_Chibber.pdf

            [2] Uniform Civil Code: What It Is & Why It Matters. (2019, November 23). The Quint. https://www.thequint.com/explainers/uniform-civil-code-explained-what-it-is-and-why-it-matters

            [3] Puniyani, R. (2020). Uniform Civil Code and Conflicts of Personal Laws. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3643457

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             [4] Legal, I. (2020, July 24). Scope of development of Uniform civil code in India. India Legal.

            [5] Sadhana, S. (n.d.). A CONTEMPORARY STUDY ON THE UNIFORM CIVIL CODE. Retrieved August 31, 2020, from https://acadpubl.eu/hub/2018-120-5/4/383.pdf

           [6] Uniform Civil Code in Goa. (n.d.). Www.Legalservicesindia.Com. Retrieved August 31, 2020, from http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/2157/Uniform-Civil-Code-in-Goa.html#:~:text=Goa%20is%20the%20only%20state

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