New Delhi: The Uniform Civil Code or UCC will not interfere with religion or customs, Law Commission Chairperson Justice (Retd) Ritu Raj Awasthi said. “We are very clear that we will not interfere in the customs and rituals of any religion,” the law panel chairman said.
Justice Awasthi further said that there are misconceptions that the Uniform Civil Code is being imposed on people and assured that all concerns regarding the Code will be addressed. The law panel chief further said that they have received 80 lakh responses from people, political parties and religious organizations on the UCC, adding that the panel has also appointed an agency to assist in the process of deciding on the feasibility of the code.
“It is not easy to analyze these responses so rapidly, so we have appointed an agency to analyze and report on it. This work is ongoing. Due to the overwhelming response we had to appoint an agency. We have appointed scholars And have consulted eminent people.” Individuals on personal law topics of different religions. We have consulted experts from outside the country like Great Britain, America, Australia. We have consulted sitting judges and retired judges. Comments are coming. We plan to move forward in the same manner,” the law panel chief said.
He further said that the Law Panel has invited various religious organizations like Muslim Personal Law Board, Women Muslim Personal Law Board, Supreme Body of Christians, Paris and a delegation of Buddhists, all of whom have come and met the Law Panel. His viewpoint. The panel chief said that the panel has also met several NGOs and tribal organisations.
Talking about misconceptions about UCC, the law panel chief said, “Now we will go out and spread among the people in the states the basic concept that we want to adopt in UCC. We want to give clarification in this regard What we find is that there are a lot of misconceptions in the minds of people due to some wrong discussions on media platforms. There is a need to treat and correct these misconceptions in the minds of people.”
For the law panel chief, the biggest misconception is that the UCC will be imposed on people, that it will interfere with their customs.
“We will give our idea. The basic concept that we want to adopt in UCC. There are some wrong debates going on on media platforms on the wrong understanding of UCC. These wrong notions are creating a lot of confusion in the minds of people that UCC is going to be. ” It should be imposed on them that it would interfere with their customs, rituals, marriages, ceremonies according to their established customs. This is all wrong,” the Law Commission chief reiterated.
He said, the Law Commission wants to go to the people and organize conferences to remove these misconceptions.
The purpose of the Uniform Civil Code is to codify laws that will apply to all citizens regardless of religion, gender, caste, etc. The UCC will be a standardized set of laws that will govern personal matters including marriage, divorce, inheritance, succession. And adoption.
Till now, personal laws are governed by the religious practices of different communities.
The creation of a Uniform Civil Code has been underway since India’s independence from British rule in 1947. Repeated attempts to bring about a code based on consensus have failed. The Supreme Court has repeatedly directed governments to implement the Uniform Civil Code.
Article 44 of the Indian Constitution under Directive Principles of State Policy states that: “The State shall endeavor to secure to the citizens throughout India a uniform civil code.”
The prospect of a uniform civil code has often raised concerns within religious minorities and tribal groups, who feel that their religious practices and customs could be subsumed into a larger code.
However, the UCC is also seen as a way to ensure that the same laws apply to all Indian citizens. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in June this year, “If in a House there is one law for one member and another law for another member, then can the House function?” How will the country run with a dual system? We should remember that the Constitution of India also talks about equal rights of citizens.