Law panel sets the UCC ball rolling for fresh look
NEW DELHI: The 22nd Law Commission of India on Wednesday set the ball rolling for a fresh look at the demand for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) by asking all stakeholders, including the public and religious organisations, to send in their views.
It gave them 30 days to share their opinions. “The concerned stakeholders are also at liberty to make their submissions in the form of consultation/ discussion/ working papers on any of the issues pertaining to the Uniform Civil Code,” its public notice stated.
The 21st Law Commission of India was the first to initiate deliberations on the UCC by seeking the views of all stakeholders through an appeal along with a questionnaire on October 7, 2016. A couple of years later, it issued three more public appeals/notices to attract more responses.
After examining the inputs, the panel issued the consultation paper, ‘Reforms of Family Law’, on August 31, 2018. “Since more than three years have lapsed from the date of issuance of the said consultation paper, bearing in mind the relevance and importance of the subject and also the various court orders on the subject, the 22nd Law Commission of India considered it expedient to deliberate afresh over the subject,” the notice said.
UCC is an article of faith for the BJP. Several BJP-ruled states have already set up panels to formulate it. For example, retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai heads the panel in Uttarakhand.
Talking to the media on Wednesday, she said the UCC being drafted by her committee will strengthen the social fabric, promote gender equality and help fight economic, social and religious inequalities. “We are trying to make a draft, which is liked by people of every religion,” Desai said at an event to seek suggestions on the UCC from Uttarakhandis who live in Delhi.