The Law Commission has started fresh consultations on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) due to the “relevance and importance” of the subject and various court orders on the matter, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
In a written reply to a question, the Law Minister noted that the 21st Law Commission had issued a consultation paper on “Reform of Family Law” on August 31, 2018, but did not submit any report on the subject.
“Since more than four years have lapsed from the date of issuance of the said consultation paper, the 22nd Law Commission [the present panel] decided to solicit views and ideas of the public at large and religious organisations on June 14, 2023, bearing in mind the relevance and importance of the subject matter and also various court orders on the subject of uniform civil code,” he said.
Responding to another question on the modalities of the UCC, Mr. Meghwal said that as the law panel was still in the process of holding consultations, “the question of modalities does not accrue at this stage”.
Also read | Comment: India needs a Uniform Civil Code
Seeking stakeholder views
The 22nd Law Commission started a fresh consultation process on June 14 by seeking views from stakeholders — including the general public, and recognised religious organisations — on the politically sensitive issue of a UCC. Though the original deadline to submit responses was July 15, the panel has now extended it to July 28.
A UCC would bring in common personal laws for all citizens of the country, which are not based on religion. Personal laws related to inheritance, adoption and succession are likely to be covered by a common code. Currently, separate personal laws apply for the members of different major religions.
The promise to implement a UCC has been part of the BJP’s election manifestos. A panel was set up to formulate a common code in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand, which is expected to come out with a draft law soon.
As part of a question on the issue of UCC, an MP asked whether the government planned to change the language of functioning of the courts from English to Hindi, so that common people can understand the proceedings in their own language. In his written response, the Law Minister replied in the negative.
