UCC push turns spotlight on SC’s query on religious freedom

Subject : Polity

Section: Constitution

Concept :

The renewed push for a Uniform Civil Code, which many communities perceive as an encroachment into their personal laws and religious rights, is underway even as a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court is yet to decide the “ambit and scope” of religious freedom itself.
It has been three years since a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court framed seven questions of law linked to religious freedom, rights and practices in the Sabarimala case.

Questions on Religious Freedom

The first of the seven questions is “What is the scope and ambit of the right to freedom of religion under Article 25 of the Constitution?” The reference in the case is still pending.
The questions remain unanswered by the court. Of all the nine judges on that Bench, only two — Justices B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant — are currently serving in the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi speech came just a week after the 22nd Law Commission of India issued a public notice for a fresh debate on the common law.
The Opposition and minority bodies have reacted that a common civil code was not in tune with Article 25, which provides protection and freedom for all to practice their religion and customary laws.
The core issue at the heart of both the Constitution Bench’s question on religious freedom framed in February 2020 and the recent controversy over the UCC is the tussle between discrimination on religious grounds and the right to preserve one’s religious identity through personal laws based on religion, customs and usages.

21st Law Commission of India

The 185-page consultation paper of the 21st Law Commission of India, largely ignored for the past five years, recommends a balancing act between the equal treatment of all religions and religious diversity by codifying personal laws.
It said the “issue of uniform civil code is vast, and its potential repercussions, untested in India”.