The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice headed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sushil Modi has called a meeting on July 3 to begin deliberations on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). It has circulated the 2018 consultation paper of the 21st Law Commission on the subject to its members. The paper argued against the UCC saying that it is “neither necessary nor desirable”.
Representatives from Department of Legal Affairs, Legislative Department, and the Law Commission of India have been invited for the meeting. The consultation paper titled ‘Reform of Family Law’, which the committee is using as the basis for its debate while advocating against a UCC has argued for the “codification of all personal laws so that prejudices and stereotypes in every one of them would come to light and could be tested on the anvil of Fundamental Rights guaranteed by the Constitution”.
By the codification of different personal laws, the paper stated, one can arrive at certain universal principles that prioritise equity rather than the imposition of a UCC. The Commission then suggested certain measures in marriage and divorce that should be uniformly accepted in the personal laws of all religions.
‘Diversionary tactic’
The Congress has also quoted this very document to draft its stand on the issue. Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh, in a statement on June 15, a day after the 22nd Law Commission announced its intention to revisit the subject, pointed to para 1.15 of the paper, which states that a UCC is “neither necessary nor desirable” at this stage. Questioning the Law Commission’s decision to revisit the issue, he had said, “This latest attempt represents the Modi government’s desperation for legitimate justification of its continuing agenda of polarisation and diversion from its glaring failures.”
The Congress does not needlessly want to wade into the UCC debate when the government, beyond rhetorical statements, hasn’t come up with any concrete draft Bill or consultative paper on the issue.
“Nothing had happened from June 15 to July 1 over and above what the Congress said. So we stand by the statement made on June 15,” Mr. Ramesh said, addressing a press conference after a meeting of the Congress’s Parliamentary Strategy Group.
The Congress has four members in the committee and according to sources, they will stick to the party’s June 15 position.
