BANGALORE: The Supreme Court of India can act to enforce the spirit of secularism and can declare the Muslim Personal Law regarding marriage and divorce as violation of the Article 15 of the Indian Constitution, Rajya Sabha Member and former Governor of Jharkhand and Bihar Justice Dr M Rama Jois.
The Article 15 of the Constitution prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion and sex. Under this provision, the Supreme Court can issue a writ of mandamus to the Union government asking the latter to treat all citizens as equal in marriage and divorce, he pointed out in a statement issued here.
Recalling that the Supreme Court had castigated the policy of the Union government in framing laws only for the Hindu community omitting minority and allowing gender discrimination under the Muslim Personal Law regarding divorce and marriage, he regretted that the government has been playing communal politics ignoring the spirit of secularism and the constitutional mandate.