The members of the Law Commission will hold group discussions with people and communities/stakeholders across the country to seek opinions and suggestions on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), sources from the commission told The Hindu. The deadline for public suggestions on UCC ended on July 28.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal reportedly said last week in Chandigarh that the Law Commission has received more than one crore suggestions regarding the UCC. As quoted by agencies, Mr. Meghwal said that the government is seeking suggestions on the UCC from every person and every section of the country.
Also read: Uniform Civil Code: Another step towards making India a Hindu Rashtra?
Elaborating on the course of action, a senior member of the Law Commission said that a team has been set-up to analyse the suggestions received by the commission through letters, mails sent by individuals and groups.
“While this exercise will take several months to complete, the commission, by then will meet people and stakeholders across the country. This will include public meetings and discussions,” he said.
Uttarakhand government’s modus operandi
A similar modus operandi was opted by the committee formed by Uttarakhand government to examine ways for the implementation of the UCC. In the span of a little over a year, this committee met 63 times. Over 2.15 lakh written submissions, including mass submissions (with multiple signatories) were received by the committee which has also met over 20,000 people personally via public outreach program. The committee also interacted with the representatives of political parties, State statutory commissions as well as with leaders of various religious denominations before coming-up with their final report which is at the printing stage at present and soon be presented to the State government.
The UCC was one of the promises made by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in its manifesto in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), too has passed resolutions pertaining to a UCC in the past. The sangh maintains that a UCC is the need of the hour and added that customary laws of communities should not be touched but some laws should be same for everyone.
The 22nd Law Commission on June 14 sought suggestions from people across the country on the UCC. This came even when the 21st law commission — led by former Supreme Court judge Justice B.S. Chauhan — had said that the UCC “is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage” in the country.
In a 185-page consultation paper on the subject, it had emphasised that secularism could not contradict the plurality prevalent in the country. “Cultural diversity cannot be compromised to the extent that our urge for uniformity itself becomes a reason for threat to the territorial integrity of the nation,” it had said.
The 22nd Law Commission has maintained that as its been more than three years from the date of issuance of the consultation paper. Bearing in mind the relevance and importance of the subject and also the various Court orders on the subject, it considered it expedient to deliberate afresh on the subject.
