Uttarakhand to hold special session of assembly for UCC

Uttarakhand to hold special session of assembly for UCC

Subject: Polity

Section: Constitution

Context: Uttarakhand to hold special session of assembly for UCC

More about the news:

• The Uttarakhand government plans to hold a special Legislative Assembly session after Diwali to discuss and pass the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill.
• Emphasizing gender equality and equal rights for daughters in ancestral properties, the proposed legislation aims for uniformity in personal laws related to marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption across religions.
• The bill does not recommend raising the marriageable age for women, retaining it at 18. 
• The five-member committee, led by former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, is expected to submit its report soon, and the Union government may use it as a template for its own UCC Bill.

What is Uniform Civil Code(UCC):

• The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) aims to enforce a uniform legal framework to all citizens, irrespective of their religion. 
• The Uniform Civil Code  wasintroduced in Goa in the year 1870 by the erstwhile Portuguese rulers and was retained even after the territory was merged with India in the year 1961. 

What are the Constitutional Provisions related to UCC:

• Article 44: The “State shall endeavor to provide for its citizens a uniform civil code (UCC) throughout the territory of India.”
• Article 37: The “state shall endeavor by suitable legislation”, while the phrase “by suitable legislation” is absent in Article 44.

What are some Supreme Court Judgement related to UCC:

• Ms. Jordan Diengdeh Case:
  • In 1985, the Supreme Court directed the Ministry of Law to take appropriate action based on the judgment in the Ms. Jordan Diengdeh case. However, more than three decades later, it remains unclear what steps have been taken in this regard.
  • The comments on the Uniform Civil Codearose from a petition challenging the applicability of The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, to a Meena community couple. Although they acknowledged solemnizing their marriage according to Hindu rites, the wife argued, in response to a divorce petition, that the Act did not apply due to their membership in a notified Scheduled Tribe in Rajasthan, invoking an exclusion under Section 2(2) of the Act.
• Sarla Mudgal vs Union of India (1995):
  • The court held that a Hindu marriage solemnized under Hindu law could only be dissolved based on grounds specified in the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Conversion to Islam and subsequent remarriage would not automatically dissolve the Hindu marriage, making a second marriage after converting to Islam an offense under Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
• John Vallamathon vs Union of India (2013):
  • Advocating for a uniform civil code across India, the Supreme Court, in 2013, emphasized the need for a uniform civil code for all citizens throughout the country.
• SC Refused to Direct (2015):
  • In 2015, the Supreme Court declined to direct Parliament to enact a Uniform Civil Code, stating that it was within Parliament’s purview to make decisions on this matter.
• Shah Bano Case (2017):
  • In 2017, the Supreme Court declared the practice of Triple Talaq (talaq-e-bidat) unconstitutional and criminalized it.
• Law Commission (2018):
  • In 2018, the Law Commission opined that a Uniform Civil Code was neither necessary nor desirable at the current stage.”