The government does not propose to set up a committee to implement a uniform civil code (UCC), Law Minister Kiren Rijiju told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
“Government has requested the Law Commission of India to undertake examination of various issues relating to uniform civil code and to make recommendation thereon,” the Minister said in his written reply.
On July 22, responding to a question in the Lok Sabha, the Law Minister had said that no decision had been taken on implementation of UCC as the matter is sub-judice.
The Minister had said legislative interventions ensure gender and religion-neutral uniform laws. Article 44 of the Constitution provides that the State shall endeavour to secure for the citizen a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.
He had also informed the Lok Sabha that personal laws, such as Intestacy and Succession, Wills, Joint Family and Partition and Marriage and Divorce, relate to Entry 5 of List-III-Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution.
“… hence, the states are also empowered to legislate upon them,” he had said.
While UCC has been a long-time poll promise of the BJP, the BJP-ruled Uttarakhand has set up a panel to examine the implementation of UCC.
