Anushka Sharma –
Published On: November 19, 2021 at 14:05 IST
The Allahabad High Court today ordered the Central Government to follow the mandate of Article 44 of the Constitution of India [Uniform Civil Code] in a batch of 17 cases pertaining to an interfaith Marriage contracted by the Petitioners seeking protection from the Court.
The Bench of Justice Suneet Kumar stated that, despite being Constitutional, the topic of UCC elicits political upheavals anytime it is addressed or contested in the public realm, and advocated for its implementation in the face of a plethora of Marriage and Family Laws.
“A common Civil code will help the cause of National integration by removing disparate loyalties to Laws that have conflicting ideologies. No community is likely to bell the cat by making gratuitous concessions on this issue. It is the State which is charged with the duty of securing a Uniform Civil Code for the Citizens of the Country and, unquestionably, it has the Legislative competence to do so,” the Court significantly observed.
Referring to the Law Commission of India’s 21st Report, the Court noted that just one year after the Law Commission stated that a “Uniform civil code is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage,” the Supreme Court had stated in Jose Paul Coutinho vs Maria Luiza that the ‘Stage’ had reached the citizens of the country and that the UCC should be enacted.
Importantly, the Court stated that the area that deserves the immediate attention of Parliament is Interfaith relationships, and that the only way to regulate such relationships is through Legislative intervention, such as enacting the UCC.
Finally, the Court stated that if the Government chose to begin the process by creating a Committee/Commission to enact the UCC, it will take a long time, and that the process should begin immediately.