A Uniform Civil Code (UCC), such as the one introduced in the Uttarakhand Assembly today, refers to a common set of laws governing personal matters of all citizens irrespective of their religion. If implemented, UCC would replace the existing personal laws based on customs & religious scriptures of each major religious community.
UCC deals with aspects like marriage, divorce, inheritance, succession, adoption etc. The objective is to have secular law overriding religious laws that regulate these aspects for different communities. Currently, UCC is applicable only in Goa, while a bill is under discussion in Uttarakhand.
Western countries, such as the US and France, already have UCCs in place, while countries such as India, Malaysia and Israel follow the community-specific model of personal law.
What does the Constitution Say?
The Indian constitution, in its Directive Principles, lays down that the state shall endeavor to provide a Uniform Civil Code for its citizens. Since Directive Principles are non-justiciable, courts cannot enforce UCC implementation.
Many of the framers of the Constitution had highlighted the need for UCC to promote national integration in the vastly diverse country. They felt that having uniform civil laws enable unity and promote gender justice regardless of religious affiliations.
Present Situation
At present, the laws applicable to each person depends on the community and/or religion to which he or she belongs.
The three major personal law codes in effect in India are:
Hindu Personal Laws: Governed by various acts like Hindu Marriage Act 1955, Hindu Succession Act 1956 etc based on religious scriptures & customs.
Muslim Personal Laws: Based on their religious laws and Sharia covering marriage, succession, inheritance etc.
Christian Personal Laws: Regulated by Indian Christian Marriage Act 1872 and Indian Succession Act 1925 covering civil matters of native Christians across denominations. They are still governed by religious scriptures.
Other communities like Parsis and Jews also have personal laws based on their religious customs governing civil matters.
Why is UCC Controversial?
The topic of UCC is controversial as it pitches group rights against individual rights.
While UCC is seen as giving individuals the right to demand equal treatment, it is also seen as an incursion into the rights of a group or community to set their own rules in matters such as marriage and inheritance.
Both the supporters and detractors of UCC base their arguments on secularism.
The supporters argue that secularism means that the state shall treat all citizens equally irrespective of their religious beliefs. Hence, they say, it is wrong for the state to punish an individual for a crime for which another citizen cannot be punished merely because the two profess different beliefs.
Secularism is also used by those who oppose UCC to bolster their arguments. They claim that secularism means that all religions and beliefs must be respected equally and people belonging to all religions must be allowed to follow their religious beliefs and traditions fully. By imposing a UCC, the state will come in the way of those who are trying to follow religions that have norms that deviate from the UCC.
The UCC is also opposed by those who fear that, in the guise of implementing a uniform code, the government will try to impose a 'Hindu Civil Code' which will only allow the majority Hindu community to follow its traditions and customs, while abridging the rights of other communities.
Judicial lack of consistency on this matter has also added to the confusion and controversy. Courts in India have given contradictory rulings: Sometimes, they have upheld personal laws terming them part of freedom of religion, but at other times, they have quashed some of the rules that are seen as biased -- particularly against women.
Prospects of UCC
Personal laws in India are part of the Concurrent List of the Constitution, meaning that both the Centre and the states can make laws on this subject. However, in case of conflict, those made by the Union will apply.
At the same time, many of the relevant jurisdictional subjects -- such as property, land, marriage registration etc -- are part of the state list. Hence, it is possible for the implementation of a UCC law passed by the centre to be scuttled by states.
For example, the 2005 Hindu Succession Amendment gave Hindu women more inheritance rights over agricultural land, but some states have not amended the required revenue or land laws to make this a reality on the ground.
Hence, such initiatives are more likely to be successful when implemented by the state governments.