English Article

How to make a Uniform Civil Code

Uniform Civil Code must be nationwide, and involve the abolition of all regressive laws.

The reported move to frame a Uniform Civil Code in certain states is the talk of the town. A statelevel UCC, however, seems to be prima facie incompatible with Article 44 of the Constitution which proclaims that the “State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India”. The all-India character and extent of the proposed code inherent in this phraseology is too conspicuous to be overlooked. Under the Constitution, family and succession laws are in the concurrent jurisdiction of the Centre and states, but a law to be equally applicable in the entire country can be enacted by Parliament alone. In many cases relating to minorities, the apex court has frowned on continued inaction in this regard, but the addressee of its concern has always been the Centre. In furtherance of the constitutional goal, Parliament enacted a civil marriage law in 1954, the Special Marriage Act. Not replacing any community-specific law, it was made available to all citizens as a secular alternative. Any man and woman, whether professing the same or different religions, could opt for a civil marriage. Existing religious marriages could also be voluntarily converted into civil marriages by registration under the Act. Section 21 of the Act laid down that all couples married under its provisions and their descendants will, in regard to their properties, be governed by the religion-neutral chapter on inheritance in the Indian Succession Act of 1925. The Special Marriage Act and the Indian Succession Act together were, thus, to constitute a UCC of an optional nature for all Indians alike. The law minister of the time, C C Biswas, had called this “first step towards a UCC”.