The Law Commission may be considering work on a Uniform Civil Code, retired Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, who heads the committee preparing a draft UCC for Uttarakhand, said on Friday, soon after meeting with the head of the Law Commission in Delhi.
Earlier this year, the then-Law Minister Kiren Rijiju told the Parliament that the Law Commission would examine the feasibility of the UCC.
On Friday, the members of the Uttarakhand UCC panel — including Justice Desai, who is also the current head of the delimitation commission, and former Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Shatrughna Singh — met Law Commission chair Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and members K.T. Sankaran, Anand Paliwal and D.P. Verma. The two panels discussed Uttarakhand’s UCC draft at length.
Uttarakhand model
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Justice Desai said that the meeting was a courtesy call. “It was his courtesy call. Because we are working on the UCC draft in Uttarakhand and probably they are also thinking about it. So they made a courtesy call and asked what kind of work has been done by us. We have also given a little idea to them,” Justice Desai said.
Asked whether the work done by her committee could be replicated at the national level, Justice Desai said that she wished other states would also follow the Uttarakhand example with regard to the UCC.
‘UCC not needed’ in 2018
In August 2018, the 21st Law Commission — led by former Supreme Court judge Justice B.S. Chauhan — had said that the UCC “is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage” in the country. In a 185-page consultation paper on the subject, the Commission had emphasised that secularism could not contradict the plurality prevalent in the country. “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,” it had said.
The Law Commission added that a unified nation did not necessarily need to have “uniformity” and that ‘‘efforts have to be made to reconcile our diversity with universal and indisputable arguments on human rights.’‘ Differences did not always imply discrimination in a robust democracy, the government’s top law advisory body said, even while suggesting that certain measures on marriage and divorce should be uniformly accepted in the personal laws of all religions.
Speaking about the progress made on the Uttarakhand UCC draft, Justice Desai said that initial consultations had been held with all stakeholders, including local residents, religious community representatives, and political parties. “There were some people who objected on certain things. Some welcomed all that we had shared. It’s a mixed response,” Justice Desai said, adding that she was not sure if the draft would be ready by the June 30 deadline.
