New Delhi, Jan 8 (PTI) The Center has told the Delhi High Court that citizens belonging to different religions and sects following different laws relating to property and marriage are an insult to the unity of the country and the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) India will be unified. In an affidavit filed in response to a petition seeking implementation of a Uniform Civil Code, the Center said it would examine the issue of framing the code in consultation with stakeholders after receiving the report of the Law Commission.
The government said that this matter is important and sensitive and for this a thorough study of the personal laws of different communities of the country is needed. In an affidavit filed through its counsel Ajay Digpaul, the Center said, “Article 44 (of the Constitution on UCC for citizens) separates religion from social relations and personal law. Citizens belonging to different religions and sects follow different laws regarding property and marriage, which is an insult to the unity of the nation. It informed that based on its request to review and make recommendations on various matters relating to UCC, the 21st Law Commission had uploaded a consultation paper on ‘Reforms in Family Law’ on its website for wider deliberation.
“After receiving the report of the Law Commission on the matter, the government will examine it after consultation with various stakeholders involved in the matter,” the affidavit said. It said, “There is a need to study the provisions of different personal laws of different communities in depth. Keeping in view the importance and sensitivity of the matter, the Central Government had requested the Law Commission of India to review and then recommend various cases relating to the Uniform Civil Code.
The Center said the petition was not maintainable as the task of setting up the UCC was a “policy matter” on which the “elected representatives of the people” decide and “no direction can be issued” in the matter. The court had in May 2019 sought the Centre’s response on a petition by Bharatiya Janata Party leader and lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. The petition has sought constitution of a judicial commission to draft the UCC to promote gender justice and equality, dignity of women and national integration. Four other petitions also claimed that India “urgently needs a Uniform Civil Code”.