Uniform civil code a much debated legislation

 Uniform civil code a much debated legislation 

India is a land of different faiths and cultures they exist across the whole country due this diversity India saw rulers from different faiths  that controlled the domain of India from time to time as years passed different laws were formulated to manage the personal affairs of peoples from different faiths but as the time is passing the need for a uniform civil code has become necessary in the country. 

Background 

The constitution of India framed a set of family regulations that will apply to each every individual, thus India still works in a multiple legal system which grants autonomy to all religions to formulate their own personal laws some of these laws are codified like the Hindu personal laws while Other being uncodified like Muslim laws.

The term uniform civil code connotes a single legislation which would govern all personal affairs related to divorce marriage, adoption , inheritance and custody of all of all individuals it aims to remove the personal laws that govern the interpersonal affairs of different faith.

The idea of uniform civil code is enshrined  under Article 44 of the constitution as goal under the directive principles of state policy it’s not a fundamental right nor a provision of constitution. 

The personal laws mainly deal in issues like marriage, divorce, custody, guardianship these laws are categorized as Hindu personal laws which is divided into four bills : Hindu marriage act , Hindu succession act , Hindu minority and guardianship act , and Hindu adoption and maintenance act, while the  Muslim personal laws are not codified they are based on the Muslim religious texts.

At present Goa is the only state in India having a uniform civil code.

 Uniform civil code in present scenario  

The issue of uniform civil code has acquired a lot of attention because of unending quarrels the voices in support of this became more stronger after the triple talaq judgement by the supreme court  in the landmark case of Shah Bano v Union of India  in 1985 the apex court stated “There is no evidence of any official activity for framing a common civil code for the country. A common Civil Code will help the cause of national integration by removing disparate loyalties to laws which have conflicting ideologies.”.

In the case of sara Mudgal Justice kuldeep singh argued that the formation of  ucc will help the country in achieving national integration by removing the ideological complexities .

While it is true that India needs a uniform civil code of secular nature yet it has been strongly criticized by various political parties  and by Muslims according to them it violates Article 25 of the Constitution and ucc can also become a tool suppress the other rights of the minorities.

Conclusion  

While looking into the present conditions the formulation of ucc is a difficult task for a government there is still an underlying insecurity in the Muslim community because of the recent judgement  related to triple talaq babri masjid introduction of CAA there is a lack of confidence in the present government  which would make the implementation of uniform civil code more difficult.