Important to make changes to personal laws of different religions before bringing a uniform civil code, says Chauhan.
New Delhi: The time is not yet ripe for bringing in a uniform civil code in the country, Justice B.S. Chauhan, the chairman of the outgoing Law Commission, said on a day when the panel submitted its consultation paper on personal law reforms to the government.
“Before bringing a uniform civil code, it is important to make changes to the personal laws of different religions,” Chauhan told ThePrint Friday. “This would involve codifying personal laws as much as possible.”
Also read: Uniform civil code is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage: Law Commission
Arguing that the uniform civil code is “a very complex issue” that needs further examination, Chauhan said it “is not the time to bring the code yet before codifying personal laws.”
The commission had been studying the issue since the last two years at the insistence of the government, but it did not submit a report on it on its final day in office.
In its draft report, the commission has stated that a uniform civil code is “neither necessary nor desirable at this stage.”
One code, one law
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has strongly backed the idea of “one code, one law,” but it has been opposed by opposition parties, which argue that India’s diversity would be in peril if there were to be codified uniform law for all communities.
Stating that a uniform code was even “constitutionally unviable,” Chauhan said, “There are several parts of the northeast and in the tribal belts where even the IPC (Indian Penal Code) and CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure) don’t apply…How can there be a uniform civil code in these areas?”
Arguing that the sixth schedule of the Indian constitution allows autonomy and certain protections to a number of states, the consultation paper has stated, “While framing a law it has to be borne in mind and 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,” the paper added.
Also read: Why Law Commission didn’t submit final report on Modi’s ‘one nation, one election’ goal
Instead it is advisable to encourage local initiatives to bring about “piecemeal changes”. In a bid to dispel the argument of secularism which is often made to emphasise the necessity of a UCC, the commission has said, “Secularism cannot be contradictory to plurality”.