PM Narendra Modi advocates ‘secular civil code’ in Independence Day speech
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on Thursday called for the introduction of a secular civil code as opposed to a ‘communal civil code’.
In his Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the PM said that the Supreme Court has repeatedly called for the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
In the presence of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, PM Modi today advocated the introduction of UCC as a secular civil code.
In his speech delivered in Hindi, the Prime Minister said,
“My dear countrymen, the Supreme Court in our country has repeatedly discussed and even ordered a Uniform Civil Code. Because a large section of society believes – and this is true – that the civil code we are living in is actually a kind of communal civil code – a discriminatory civil code. Such a code when we are celebrating 75 years of the Constitution. It behooves us, together with the Supreme Court, to implement (Uniform Civil Code) and fulfill the dreams of our Constitution makers.”
Article 44 of the Constitution of India mandates that the government shall endeavour to ensure a Uniform Civil Code for all citizens throughout India.
Recently, the state of Uttarakhand has implemented the Uniform Civil Code.
However, the Uniform Civil Code for the whole of India is yet to be implemented and people are still governed under their personal religious laws in some cases.
The UCC envisages uniform law to subsume personal religious law in matters of marriage, divorce, inheritance, succession, maintenance, adoption and guardianship.
The issue is highly controversial and polarising in the country, and has been part of the manifesto of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for the past several years.
The Supreme Court had said in the Sarla Mudgal case that the introduction of UCC is necessary, but the public has to be convinced to accept it.
The desirability of a uniform code can hardly be doubted. But it can take tangible shape only when a proper social atmosphere is created by the elite of the society, politicians among the leaders, who instead of deriving personal gains should rise above and awaken the masses to accept change. The problem associated with these appeals is that many Hindus have changed their religion and embraced Islam only for the purpose of escaping the consequences of bigamy,” the court had observed in that case.
According to media reports, a Supreme Court bench of (now retired) Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose had in 2019 lamented the delay in framing and enacting the uniform code.
In 2003, the then Chief Justice of India (CJI) VN Khare had said that Article 44 is based on the premise that in civilised societies, there is no necessary connection between religious law and personal law.
In 2015, a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice (retd) Vikramjit Sen had asked the government to take a quick decision on the UCC to end confusion caused by personal religious laws.
In July this year, the Madhya Pradesh High Court said that the UCC should not remain only on paper, noting that there are many depreciatory, fundamentalist, superstitious and ultra-orthodox practices in the name of faith and belief in society.
The Allahabad High Court had in November 2021 called upon the central government to implement the mandate of Article 44 of the Constitution of India in this regard.
The Delhi High Court also reiterated similar views in 2021.
In recent times, the Kerala High Court called for framing a uniform code for marriage and divorce in India.
Socio-religious organisation Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind has opposed any such code applicable to Muslims. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP and senior advocate P Wilson had earlier remarked that the implementation of the UCC would destroy the diversity of the nation. The central government has said that it would be difficult to give a strict time frame for drafting and implementing the UCC.
