Uniform Civil Code

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The Uniform Civil Code is a proposal in India to formulate and implement personal laws of citizens which apply on all citizens equally regardless of their religion. Currently, personal laws of various communities are governed by their religious scriptures. [1] Implementation of a uniform civil code across the nation is pursued by India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Personal laws cover marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption and maintenance. While articles 25-28 of the Indian Constitution guarantee religious freedom to Indian citizens and allow religious groups to maintain their own affairs, article 44 expects the Indian state to apply directive principles and common law for all Indian citizens while formulating national policies. [2] [3]

Contents

Personal laws were first framed during the British Raj, mainly for Hindu and Muslim citizens. The British feared opposition from community leaders and refrained from further interfering within this domestic sphere. The Indian state of Goa was separated from British India during the colonial rule in the erstwhile Portuguese Goa and Daman, retained a common family law known as the Goa civil code and thus was the only state in India with a uniform civil code prior to 2024. Following India's independence, Hindu code bills were introduced which largely codified and reformed personal laws in various sects among Indian religions like Buddhists, Hindus, Jains and Sikhs but they exempted Christians, Jews, Muslims and Parsis. [4] [5]

UCC emerged as a crucial topic of interest in Indian politics following the Shah Bano case in 1985. The debate arose on the question of making certain laws applicable to all citizens without abridging the fundamental right to practice religious functions. The debate then focused on the Muslim Personal Law, which is partially based on the Sharia law, permitting unilateral divorce, polygamy and putting it among the legally applying the Sharia law. A UCC bill was proposed twice, in November 2019 and March 2020 but was withdrawn both the times without introduction in the parliament. The bill is reported to be under discussion between the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). [6] Many opposition parties and BJP's allies from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have opposed the Uniform Civil Code, especially from Northeast India, claiming that it will go against the "idea of India" and will end special privileges of tribal communities after renewed calls by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2023 about implementing a UCC. [7] [8] [9]

On 7 February 2024, The Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly passed The Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand Act, 2024, making Uttarakhand the first state in India to have a law on the Uniform Civil Code. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami describes it as a "historic moment" for the country. [10]

History

British India (1858–1947)

The Lex Loci Report of October 1840 emphasised the importance and necessity of uniformity in codification of Indian law, relating to crimes, evidences and contract but it recommended that personal laws of Hindus and Muslims should be kept outside such codification. [11] According to their understanding of religious divisions in India, the British separated this sphere which would be governed by religious scriptures and customs of the various communities (Hindus, Muslims, Christians and later Parsis). [12] These laws were applied by the local courts or panchayats when dealing with regular cases involving civil disputes between people of the same religion; the State would only intervene in exceptional cases. Thus, the British let the Indian public have the benefit of self-government in their own domestic matters with the Queen's 1859 Proclamation promising absolute non-interference in religious matters. [13] [14] The personal laws involved inheritance, succession, marriage and religious ceremonies. The public sphere was governed by the British and Anglo-Indian law in terms of crime, land relations, laws of contract and evidence—all this applied equally to every citizen irrespective of religion. [14]

Throughout the country, there was a variation in preference for scriptural or customary laws because in many Hindu and Muslim communities, these were sometimes at conflict; [12] such instances were present in communities like the Jats and the Dravidians. The Shudras, for instance, allowed widow remarriage—completely contrary to the scriptural Hindu law. [15] The Hindu laws got preference because of their relative ease in implementation, preference for such a Brahminical system by both British and Indian judges and their fear of opposition from the high caste Hindus. [15] The difficulty in investigating each specific practice of any community, case-by-case, made customary laws harder to implement. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, favouring local opinion, the recognition of individual customs and traditions increased. [14]

The Muslim Personal law (based on Sharia law), was not strictly enforced as compared to the Hindu law. It had no uniformity in its application at lower courts and was severely restricted because of bureaucratic procedures. This led to the customary law, which was often more discriminatory against women, to be applied over it. Women, mainly in northern and western India, often were restrained from property inheritance and dowry settlements, both of which the Sharia provides. [16] Due to pressure from the Muslim elite, the Shariat law of 1937 was passed which stipulated that all Indian Muslims would be governed by Islamic laws on marriage, divorce, maintenance, adoption, succession and inheritance. [16]

Legislative reforms

Certain Hindu customs prevalent at the time discriminated against women by depriving them of inheritance, remarriage and divorce. Their condition, especially that of Hindu widows and daughters, was poor due to this and other prevalent customs. [17] [18] The British and social reformers like Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar were instrumental in outlawing such customs by getting reforms passed through legislative processes. [19] Since the British feared opposition from orthodox community leaders, only the Indian Succession Act 1865, which was also one of the first laws to ensure women's economic security, attempted to shift the personal laws to the realm of civil. The Indian Marriage Act 1864 had procedures and reforms solely for Christian marriages. [20]

There were law reforms passed which were beneficial to women like the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856, Married Women's Property Act of 1923 and the Hindu Inheritance (Removal of Disabilities) Act, 1928, which in a significant move, permitted a Hindu woman's right to property. [17]

The call for equal rights for women was only at its initial stages in India at that time and the reluctance of the British government further deterred the passing of such reforms. The All India Women's Conference (AIWC) expressed its disappointment with the male-dominated legislature and Lakshmi Menon said in an AIWC conference in 1933, [19] "If we are to seek divorce in court, we are to state that we are not Hindus, and are not guided by Hindu law. The members in the Legislative assembly who are men will not help us in bringing any drastic changes which will be of benefit to us." The women's organisations demanded a uniform civil code to replace the existing personal laws, basing it on the Karachi Congress resolution which guaranteed gender-equality. [19]

The passing of the Hindu Women's right to Property Act of 1937, also known as the Deshmukh bill, led to the formation of the B. N. Rau committee, which was set up to determine the necessity of common Hindu laws. The committee concluded that it was time of a uniform civil code, which would give equal rights to women keeping with the modern trends of society but their focus was primarily on reforming the Hindu law in accordance with the scriptures. The committee reviewed the 1937 Act and recommended a civil code of marriage and succession; it was set up again in 1944 and send its report to the Indian Parliament in 1947. [19]

The Special Marriage Act, which gave the Indian citizens an option of a civil marriage, was first enacted in 1872. It had a limited application because it required those involved to renounce their religion and was applicable mostly to non-Hindus. The later Special Marriage (Amendment) Act, 1923 permitted Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains to marry either under their personal law or under the act without renouncing their religion as well as retaining their succession rights. [21]

Post-colonial (1947–1985)

Hindu Code Bill and addition to the Directive Principles

Jawaharlal Nehru supported a uniform civil code but he had to face opposition from other leaders Jawaharlal Nehru, circa 1925.jpg
Jawaharlal Nehru supported a uniform civil code but he had to face opposition from other leaders

The Indian Parliament discussed the report of the Hindu law committee during the 1948–1951 and 1951–1954 sessions. The first Prime Minister of the Indian republic, Jawaharlal Nehru, his supporters and women members wanted a uniform civil code to be implemented. [22] As Law Minister, B. R. Ambedkar was in charge of presenting the details of this bill. It was found that the orthodox Hindu laws were pertaining only to a specific school and tradition because monogamy, divorce and the widow's right to inherit property were present in the Shashtras . [22] Ambedkar recommended the adoption of a uniform civil code. [23] [24] Ambedkar's frequent attack on the Hindu laws and dislike for the upper castes made him unpopular in the parliament. He had done research on the religious texts and considered the Hindu society structure flawed. According to him, only law reforms could save it and the Code bill was this opportunity. [25] He thus faced severe criticism from the opposition. Nehru later supported Ambedkar's reforms but did not share his negative view on Hindu society. [25]

The Hindu bill itself received much criticism and the main provisions opposed were those concerning monogamy, divorce, abolition of coparcenaries (women inheriting a shared title) and inheritance to daughters. The first President of the country, Rajendra Prasad, opposed these reforms; others included the Congress party president Vallabhbhai Patel, a few senior members and the Hindu fundamentalists within Indian National Congress. [19] [26] The women members of the parliament, who previously supported this, in a significant political move reversed their position and backed the Hindu law reform; they feared allying with the fundamentalists would cause a further setback to their rights. [17]

Thus, a lesser version of this bill was passed by the parliament in 1956, in the form of four separate acts, the Hindu Marriage Act, Succession Act, Minority and Guardianship Act and Adoptions and Maintenance Act. It was decided to add the implementation of a uniform civil code in Article 44 of the Directive principles of the Constitution specifying, "The State shall endeavour to secure for citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India." [27] This was opposed by women members like Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and Hansa Mehta. According to academic Paula Banerjee, this move was to make sure it would never be addressed. [28] Aparna Mahanta writes, "failure of the Indian state to provide a uniform civil code, consistent with its democratic secular and socialist declarations, further illustrates the modern state's accommodation of the traditional interests of a patriarchal society". [28]

Later years and Special Marriage Act

The Hindu code bill failed to control the prevalent gender discrimination. The law on divorce were framed giving both partners equal voice but majority of its implementation involved those initiated by men. Since the Act applied only to Hindus, women from the other communities remained subordinated. For instance, Muslim women, under the Muslim Personal Law, could not inherit agricultural land. [28] Nehru accepted that the bill was not complete and perfect, but was cautious about implementing drastic changes which could stir up specific communities. He agreed that it lacked any substantial reforms but felt it was an "outstanding achievement" of his time. [25] He had a significant role in getting the Hindu Code bill passed and laid down women-equality as an ideal to be pursued in Indian politics, which was eventually accepted by the previous critics of the bill. [25] Uniform civil code, for him, was a necessity for the whole country but he did not want it to forced upon any community, especially if they were not ready for such a reform. According to him, such a lack of uniformity was preferable since it would be ineffective if implemented. Thus, his vision of family law uniformity was not applied and was added to the Directive principles of the Constitution. [25]

The Special Marriage Act, 1954, provides a form of civil marriage to any citizen irrespective of religion, thus permitting any Indian to have their marriage outside the realm of any specific religious personal law. [21] The law applied to all of India, except Jammu and Kashmir. In many respects, the act was almost identical to the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, which gives some idea as to how secularised the law regarding Hindus had become. The Special Marriage Act allowed Muslims to marry under it and thereby retain the protections, generally beneficial to Muslim women, that could not be found in the personal law. Under this act polygamy was illegal, and inheritance and succession would be governed by the Indian Succession Act, rather than the respective Muslim Personal Law. Divorce also would be governed by the secular law, and maintenance of a divorced wife would be along the lines set down in the civil law. [29]

Significance of Shah Bano case

After the passing of the Hindu Code bill, the personal laws in India had two major areas of application: the common Indian citizens and the Muslim community, whose laws were kept away from any reforms. [30] The frequent conflict between secular and religious authorities over the issue of uniform civil code eventually decreased, until the 1985 Shah Bano case. Bano was a 73-year-old woman who sought maintenance from her husband, Muhammad Ahmad Khan. He had divorced her after 40 years of marriage by triple Talaaq (saying "I divorce thee" three times) and denied her regular maintenance; this sort of unilateral divorce was permitted under the Muslim Personal Law. She was initially granted maintenance by the verdict of a local court in 1980. Khan, a lawyer himself, challenged this decision, taking it to the Supreme Court, saying that he had fulfilled all his obligations under Islamic law. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Shah Bano in 1985 under the "maintenance of wives, children and parents" provision (Section 125) of the All India Criminal Code, which applied to all citizens irrespective of religion. It further recommended that a uniform civil code be set up, stating that a uniform civil code would promote national integration by eliminating conflicting loyalties to laws with divergent ideologies. [31] Besides her case, two other Muslim women had previously received maintenance under the Criminal Code in 1979 and 1980. [16]

Rajiv Gandhi's Congress party lost state-level elections in 1985 after it endorsed the Supreme Court's decision supporting Bano but later reversed its stand. Rajiv Gandhi at 7 Race course road 1988 (cropped).jpg
Rajiv Gandhi's Congress party lost state-level elections in 1985 after it endorsed the Supreme Court's decision supporting Bano but later reversed its stand.

The Shah Bano case soon became nationwide political issue and a widely debated controversy. [30] Many conditions, like the Supreme court's recommendation, made her case have such public and political interest. After the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, minorities in India, with Muslims being the largest, felt threatened with the need to safeguard their culture. [30] The All India Muslim Board defended the application of their laws and supported the Muslim conservatives who accused the government of promoting Hindu dominance over every Indian citizen at the expense of minorities. The Criminal Code was seen as a threat to the Muslim Personal Law, which they considered their cultural identity. [16] According to them, the judiciary recommending a uniform civil code was evidence that Hindu values would be imposed over every Indian. [16]

The orthodox Muslims felt that their communal identity was at stake if their personal laws were governed by the judiciary. [16] Rajiv Gandhi's Congress government, which previously had the support of Muslim minorities, lost the local elections in December 1985 because of its endorsement of the Supreme Court's decision. [32] The members of the Muslim board, including Khan, started a campaign for complete autonomy in their personal laws. It soon reached a national level, by consulting legislators, ministers and journalists. The press played a considerable role in sensationalizing this incident. [16]

An independent Muslim Member of Parliament proposed a bill to protect their personal law in the parliament. The Congress reversed its previous position and supported this bill while the Hindu right, the Left, Muslim liberals and women's organisations strongly opposed it. The Muslim Women's (Protection of Rights on Divorce) was passed in 1986, which made Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code inapplicable to Muslim women. The debate now centred on the divinity of their personal law. A Muslim member of parliament made a claim emphasising the importance of the cultural community over national by saying that only a Muslim judge could intercede in such cases. [32] Bano later in a statement said that she rejected the Supreme Court's verdict. It also led to the argument defining a woman's right according to her specific community with political leader Jaffar Sharief saying, "today, in the Shah Bano's case, I am finding that many people are more sympathetic towards Muslim women than their own women. This is very strange." [32]

The politicisation led to argument having two major sides: the Congress and Muslim conservatives versus the Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and the Left. In 1987, the Minister of Social Welfare, Rajendra Kumari Bajpai, reported that no women were given maintenance by the Wakf Board in 1986. Women activists highlighted their legal status and according to them, "main problem is that there [are] many laws but women are dominated not by secular laws, not by uniform civil laws, but by religious laws." [32] The legal reversal of introducing the Muslim Women law significantly hampered the nationwide women's movement in the 1980s. [32]

Current status and opinions

Definition of the proposal

UCC is meant to replace various laws currently applicable to different communities which are inconsistent with each other. These laws include the Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu Succession Act, Indian Christian Marriages Act, Indian Divorce Act, Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act. Meanwhile, certain codes like Sharia (Islamic laws) are not codified and solely based upon their religious scriptures. [1]

The proposals in UCC include monogamy, equal rights for son and daughter over inheritance of paternal property, and gender and religion neutral laws with regards to will, charity, divinity, guardianship and sharing of custody. These proposals may not result in much difference to the status of Hindu society, as they have already been applicable on Hindus through the Hindu Code Bills for decades. [33]

Points of view

The debate for a uniform civil code, with its diverse implications and concerning secularism in the country, is one of the most controversial issues in twenty-first century Indian politics. [34] The major problems for implementing it are the country's diversity and religious laws, which not only differ sect-wise, but also by community, caste and region. [34]

India is a 'secular' nation which means a separation between religion and state matters. However, 'secularism' in India is defined as equality of all religions and practitioners of all religions before the law. Currently, with a mix of different civil codes, citizens are treated differently by law and by courts based on their religion. The rights of Hindu women are far more progressive (and constitutional, by virtue of being gender-neutral and secular) than those of Muslim women, who are governed by Muslim Personal Law, which is based on the Sharia law.[ citation needed ]

Women's rights groups have said the issue of a uniform civil code is only based on the rights and security of women, irrespective of its politicisation. [34] The arguments for it are: its mention in Article 44 of the Constitution, need for strengthening the unity and integrity of the country, rejection of different laws for different communities, importance for gender equality, and reforming the archaic personal laws of Muslims—which allow unilateral divorce and polygamy. India is thus among the nations that legally apply the Sharia law. According to Qutub Kidwai, the Muslim Personal Law is "Anglo-Mohammadan" rather than solely Islamic. [34] The Hindu nationalists view this issue in the concept of the Hindu law, which they say, is secular and equal to both sexes. [34] In the country, demanding a uniform civil code can be seen negatively by religious authorities and secular sections of society because of identity politics. [34] The Sangh Parivar and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), one of the two major political parties in India, have taken up this issue to gain Hindu support. [34] The BJP was the first party in the country to promise UCC if elected to power. [34]

The Indian state of Goa abides by Goa Civil Code. It is a set of civil laws, originally the Portuguese Civil Code, which continues to be implemented even after the Indian annexation of the state in 1961. [35]

Sikhs and Buddhists objected to the wording of Article 25 which terms them as Hindus with personal laws being applied to them. [36] However, this article also guarantees the right of the members of the Sikh faith to bear a Kirpan. [37]

In October 2015, the Supreme Court of India asserted the need for a uniform civil code and said: "This cannot be accepted, otherwise every religion will say it has a right to decide various issues as a matter of its personal law. We don't agree with this at all. It has to be done through a decree of a court". [38] On 30 November 2016, British Indian intellectual Tufail Ahmad unveiled a 12-point draft proposal, citing no effort by the government since 1950. The Law Commission of India stated on August 31, 2018, that a uniform civil code is "neither necessary nor desirable at this stage" in a 185-page consultation paper, adding that secularism cannot contradict the plurality prevalent in the country. [39] [40] On June 14, 2023, the 22nd Law Commission of India requested input from religious organizations and the general public regarding the matter of implementing a Uniform Civil Code (UCC). According to a notification released by the commission, individuals who are interested and willing can express their opinions within a 30-day time frame. [41]

Indian society in pre-independence era had many other considerations like socio-economic status, jati and gotra etc. in case of marriages. While the Hindu Code Bills and other Acts wiped out all such practices in Hindu, Jains, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian communities, some conservative sections of these communities had been demanding amendments to their Marriage Acts. [42]

Critics of UCC continue to oppose it as a threat to religious freedom. They consider the abolition of religious laws to be against secularism, and the UCC as a means for BJP to target Muslims under the pretense of progressivism. However, BJP members state that they promote UCC as a means of achieving religious equality and equal rights for women by fending off unfair religious laws. [43] [44]

Legal expert and rights groups suggest amending gender discriminatory laws, rather than implementing a uniform civil code. An example of such a law is Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 which applies to women of all communities without the need for a uniform civil code. [5]

On 17 July 2023, Justice Krishna Murari, who recently concluded his tenure in the Supreme Court of India, said that "uniformity in anyway is beneficial", but before the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code, extensive deliberations and consultations, on a large scale, with the general public should take place. [45]

UCC had been included in BJP's manifesto for the 1998 and 2019 elections, and was even proposed for introduction in the Parliament for the first time in November 2019 by Narayan Lal Panchariya. Amid protests by other MPs, the bill was soon withdrawn for making certain amendments. [46] [44] The bill was brought for a second time by Kirodi Lal Meena in March 2020, but was not introduced again. [47] As per reports which emerged in 2020, the bill's specifics are being contemplated by the BJP due to its topical differences with the RSS. [6] [48]

A plea was filed in the Delhi High Court which sought establishment of a judicial commission or a high level expert committee to direct the central government to prepare a draft of UCC in three months. In April 2021, a request was filed to transfer the plea to the Supreme Court so that filing of more such pleas throughout various high courts doesn't bring inconsistency throughout India. The draft would further be published on the website for 60 days to facilitate extensive public debate and feedback. [33]

Reactions

Many political parties, ranging from opposition parties to the BJP's own allies in the NDA, have objected to calls for a uniform civil code by the BJP. [49] [7] Furthermore, the idea of the UCC has been opposed by many NGOs and organizations.

A group from Nagaland warned that it will burn the houses of all the 60 legislators in the state if the UCC gets implemented in the state. The Nagaland Transparency, Public Rights Advocacy and Direct-Action Organisation opposed the idea of the UCC, saying it will erode local customs and traditions of tribes. The Hynniewtrep Youth Council from the state of Meghalaya said they will request the Law Commission not to implement the UCC. [50]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<i>Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum</i> Maintenance lawsuit in India

Mohd. Ahmad Khan v. Shah Bano Begum [1985], commonly referred to as the Shah Bano case, was a controversial maintenance lawsuit in India, in which the Supreme Court delivered a judgment favouring maintenance given to an aggrieved divorced Muslim woman. Then the Congress government enacted a law with its most controversial aspect being the right to maintenance for the period of iddat after the divorce, and shifting the onus of maintaining her to her relatives or the Waqf Board. It was seen as discriminatory as it denied right to basic maintenance available to Muslim women under secular law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law of India</span> Legal system of India

The legal system of India consists of civil law, common law, customary law, religious law and corporate law within the legal framework inherited from the colonial era and various legislation first introduced by the British are still in effect in modified forms today. Since the drafting of the Indian Constitution, Indian laws also adhere to the United Nations guidelines on human rights law and the environmental law. personal law is fairly complex, with each religion adhering to its own specific laws. In most states, registering of marriages and divorces is not compulsory. Separate laws govern Hindus including Sikhs, Jains and Buddhist, Muslims, Christians, and followers of other religions. The exception to this rule is in the state of Goa, where a uniform civil code is in place, in which all religions have a common law regarding marriages, divorces, and adoption. Plus, recently, on February 7, 2024, the Indian state of Uttarakhand has also incorporated a uniform civil code. In the first major reformist judgment for the 2010s, the Supreme Court of India banned the Islamic practice of "Triple Talaq". The landmark Supreme Court of India judgment was welcomed by women's rights activists across India.

Hindu law, as a historical term, refers to the code of laws applied to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs in British India. Hindu law, in modern scholarship, also refers to the legal theory, jurisprudence and philosophical reflections on the nature of law discovered in ancient and medieval era Indian texts. It is one of the oldest known jurisprudence theories in the world and began three thousand years ago whose original sources were the Hindu texts.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">All India Muslim Personal Law Board</span> Indian non-government legal organization

All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is a non-governmental organization in India that represents the interests of Muslims in matters of personal law. It was formed in 1973 with the objective of protecting and promoting the application of Islamic personal law among Muslims in India. The AIMPLB is primarily concerned with issues related to marriage, divorce, inheritance, and other personal matters governed by Islamic law, known as Shariah. The AIMPLB has been involved in various significant cases and debates, including those related to the Muslim Women Act, the Shah Bano case, and the Triple Talaq issue. It has also played a role in advocating for the preservation of Muslim personal laws and resisting attempts to introduce a uniform civil code in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feminism in India</span> History of the feminist movement in India

Feminism in India is a set of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and opportunities for women in India. It is the pursuit of women's rights within the society of India. Like their feminist counterparts all over the world, feminists in India seek gender equality: the right to work for equality in wages, the right to equal access to health and education, and equal political rights. Indian feminists also have fought against culture-specific issues within India's patriarchal society, such as inheritance laws.

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Christian personal law or family law regulates adoption, divorce, guardianship, marriage and succession in India. The provisions of canon law concerning marriage are recognised as the personal law of Roman Catholics in India. Marriages of Indian Christians are regulated by the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872. Christian personal law is not applicable in Goa; instead, the Goa civil code is the set of civil laws that regulate the residents of the Indian state of Goa. In India as a whole, there are religion-specific civil codes that separately govern adherents of different religions. Goa is an exception to that rule in that a single secular code governs all Goans, irrespective of religion, ethnicity or linguistic affiliation.

The Goa Civil Code, also called the Goa Family Law, is the set of civil laws that governs the residents of the Indian state of Goa. The Goan civil code was introduced after Portuguese Goa and Damaon were elevated from being mere Portuguese colonies to the status of a Província Ultramarina. The Goan civil code is a Indianised variant of the Portuguese legal system that draws largely from the Napoleonic Code, a common legal system in a number of Continental European nations. Indian law mostly derives from English common law that was formulated and applied in British India, and remains pegged to developments in the "Charter of the British Commonwealth". With a number of amendments, following the Partition of India, Indian laws as a whole, have religion-specific civil codes that separately govern adherents of different religions; and also has caste reservations. Goa and Damaon are an exception to that rule, in that a single code governs all the native Goans and the native Damanese of Damaon, Diu & Silvassa, irrespective of affiliation to religion, ethnicity and social strata. The English translation of the civil code is available on the Government of Goa's e-Gazette dated 19/10/2018.

Modern Hindu law is one of the personal law systems of India along with similar systems for Muslims, Sikhs, Parsis, and Christians. This Hindu Personal Law or modern Hindu law is an extension of the Anglo-Hindu Law developed during the British colonial period in India, which is in turn related to the less well-defined tradition of Classical Hindu Law. The time frame of this period of Hindu law begins with the formal independence of India from Great Britain on August 14, 1947, and extends up until the present. While modern Hindu law is heralded for its inherent respect for religious doctrines, many still complain that discrimination still pervades the legal system, though efforts to modernize and increase the legal rights of the marginalized have been made.

The Hindu code bills were several laws passed in the 1950s that aimed to codify and reform Hindu personal law in India, abolishing religious law in favor of a common law code. The Indian National Congress government led by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru successfully implemented the reforms in 1950s. This process was started during the British rule of India.

The Hindu Marriage Act (HMA) is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted in 1955 which was passed on 18 May. Three other important acts were also enacted as part of the Hindu Code Bills during this time: the Hindu Succession Act (1956), the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act (1956), the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (1956).

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Sarla Mudgal v. Union Of India is a Supreme Court of India case. Its judgement in 1995 laid down the principles against the practice of solemnizing second marriage by conversion to Islam, with first marriage not being dissolved. The verdict discusses issue of bigamy, the conflict between the personal laws existing on matters of marriage and invokes article 44 of Indian Constitution. It is considered a landmark decision that highlighted the need for a uniform civil code.

Triple talaq and talaq-e-mughallazah are now-banned means of Islamic divorce previously available to Muslims in India, especially adherents of Hanafi Sunni Islamic schools of jurisprudence. A Muslim man could legally divorce his wife by proclaiming three times consecutively the word talaq.

All the Muslims in India are governed by the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937. This law deals with marriage, succession, inheritance and charities among Muslims. The Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 deals with the circumstances in which Muslim women can obtain divorce and rights of Muslim women who have been divorced by their husbands and to provide for related matters. These laws are not applicable in the state of Goa, where Goa civil code is applicable for all persons irrespective of religion. These laws are not applicable to Indians, including Muslims, who married under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

At the beginning of February 2022, a dispute pertaining to school uniforms was reported in the Indian state of Karnataka, when some Muslim students of a junior college who wanted to wear hijab to classes were denied entry on the grounds that it was a violation of the college's uniform policy which was also followed by the other religion students as well. Over the following weeks, the dispute spread to other schools and colleges across the state, with groups of Hindu students staging counter-protests by demanding to wear saffron scarves. On 5 February, the Karnataka government issued an order stating that uniforms must be worn compulsorily where policies exist and no exception can be made for the wearing of the hijab. Several educational institutions cited this order and denied entry to Muslim girls wearing the hijab.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand Act, 2024</span> Recently passed State Legislation

The Uniform Civil Code Act, 2024 is a legislation to establish a common set of personal laws governing matters like marriage, divorce, inheritance, and maintenance for all citizens of Uttarakhand, irrespective of their religion,gender,caste or sex.

References

Citations
  1. 1 2 Anand, Utkarsh (15 March 2021). "Has the Supreme Court set the ball rolling for a Uniform Civil Code?". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  2. ↑ Shimon Shetreet; Hiram E. Chodosh (December 2014). Uniform Civil Code for India: Proposed Blueprint for Scholarly Discourse. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-807712-1 . Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  3. ↑ "Article 44 in the Constitution of India 1949". Indian Kanoon. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  4. ↑ Rina Verma Williams (2006). Postcolonial Politics and Personal Laws. Oxford University Press. pp. 18, 28, 106, 107, 119. ISBN   0-19-568014-6.
  5. 1 2 Dasgupta, Sravasti (6 July 2023). "BJP Equates UCC With Gender Justice. But Can It End Discrimination In-Built in Personal Laws?". The Wire . New Delhi. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  6. 1 2 Ramchandran, Smriti Kak (6 August 2020). "BJP, RSS hope for consensus on Uniform Civil Code". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  7. 1 2 Dasgupta, Sravasti (3 July 2023). "NDA Partners from Northeast Oppose BJP's Push for Uniform Civil Code". The Wire . Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  8. ↑ Staff, The Wire (27 June 2023). "In Poll Bound Madhya Pradesh, PM Modi Rakes up Triple Talaq, UCC and 'Appeasement'". The Wire . New Delhi. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  9. ↑ Staff, The Wire (27 June 2023). "In Poll Bound Madhya Pradesh, PM Modi Rakes up Triple Talaq, UCC and 'Appeasement'". The Wire . Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  10. ↑ "Uniform Civil Code bill passed in Uttarakhand assembly". Hindustan Times . Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  11. ↑ Banerjee, Anil Chandra (1984). English Law in India. Abhinav Publications. p. 134. ISBN   978-81-7017-183-6. Archived from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  12. 1 2 Sarkar & Sarkar 2008, p. 2–3.
  13. ↑ Chavan & Kidwai 2006, p. 66–67.
  14. 1 2 3 Sarkar & Sarkar 2008, p. 263.
  15. 1 2 Sarkar & Sarkar 2008, p. 93.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lawrence & Karim 2007, p. 262–264.
  17. 1 2 3 Chavan & Kidwai 2006, p. 87–88.
  18. ↑ Chavan & Kidwai 2006, p. 94–100.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 Chavan & Kidwai 2006, p. 83–86.
  20. ↑ Samaddar 2005, p. 50–51.
  21. 1 2 Singh, Shiv Sahai (1 January 1993). Unification of Divorce Laws in India . Deep & Deep Publications. pp.  7, 287–288. ISBN   978-81-7100-592-5.
  22. 1 2 Chavan & Kidwai 2006, p. 90, 94–100.
  23. ↑ Jaffrelot, Christophe (14 August 2003). "Ambedkar And The Uniform Civil Code". Outlook India. Archived from the original on 14 April 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  24. ↑ Pathak, Vikas (1 December 2015). "Ambedkar favoured common civil code". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 November 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 Sarkar & Sarkar 2008, p. 480–491.
  26. ↑ Som, Reba (1 February 1994). "Jawaharlal Nehru and the Hindu Code: A Victory of Symbol over Substance?". Modern Asian Studies. 28 (1). Cambridge University Press: 165–194. doi:10.1017/S0026749X00011732. ISSN   0026-749X. JSTOR   312925.
  27. ↑ Purandare, Vaibhav (8 September 2017). "How Muslim fears were allayed, and the UCC became a directive principle". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  28. 1 2 3 Samaddar 2005, p. 56–59.
  29. ↑ "The Special Marriage Act, 1954". indiakanoon.org. Archived from the original on 21 July 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  30. 1 2 3 Lawrence & Karim 2007, p. 265–267.
  31. ↑ "Law Commission seeks public, religious bodies' views on Uniform Civil Code". 15 June 2023.
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 Samaddar 2005, p. 60–63.
  33. 1 2 Ojha, Drishti (11 April 2021). "Plea In Supreme Court Seeks Transfer Of Plea For Uniform Civil Code From Delhi High Court To SC". LiveLaw. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  34. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Chavan & Kidwai 2006, p. 13–20.
  35. ↑ "Call to implement Goan model of civil code". New Indian Express. 15 May 2012. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  36. ↑ Boyle, Kevin; Sheen, Juliet (7 March 2013). Freedom of Religion and Belief: A World Report. Routledge. pp. 191–192. ISBN   978-1-134-72229-7. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  37. ↑ The Constitution of India, Right to Freedom of religion, Article 25 (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 21 June 2014
  38. ↑ Anand, Utkarsh (13 October 2015), Uniform Civil Code: There's total confusion, why can't it be done, SC asks govt, New Delhi: The Indian Express, archived from the original on 15 October 2015, retrieved 13 October 2015
  39. ↑ "Muslim intellectual proposes a revolutionary Uniform Civil Code". The Statesman. IANS. 30 November 2016. Archived from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  40. ↑ Ahmad, Tufail (30 November 2016). "My blueprint for the Uniform Civil Code". DailyO. Archived from the original on 30 November 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  41. ↑ "Law Commission seeks views on Uniform Civil Code: What is the UCC and the debate around it". 18 June 2023.
  42. ↑ Anand, Hardik (28 May 2018). "Amend Hindu Marriage Act to ban same-gotra marriages: Khaps". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  43. ↑ "Uniform Civil Code: Another nail in the coffin to satisfy the facade of party manifesto". India Legal. 23 July 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  44. 1 2 Jigeesh, AM (6 December 2019). "After objections, BJP member withdraws Bill for UCC". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  45. ↑ "Uniformity is Good but Uniform Civil Code Needs Large-Scale Consultations: Ex-SC Judge Murari". 17 July 2023.
  46. ↑ Chari, Seshadri (16 August 2019). "Modi govt has been working for a Uniform Civil Code and we didn't even notice. Until now". The Print. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  47. ↑ Joy, Shemin (13 March 2020). "BJP MP once again does not introduce Uniform Civil Code Bill". New Delhi: Deccan Herald. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  48. ↑ Sharma, Vibha (6 August 2020). "UCC next on Modi govt agenda?". The Tribune. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  49. ↑ "'Meant to Distract People': Opposition Parties on PM Modi's Uniform Civil Code Pitch". The Wire . 28 June 2023. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  50. ↑ "Protests against UCC build up in three northeastern States". The Hindu . Guwahati. 2 July 2023. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
Bibliography

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