Law Commission on Uniform Civil Code

Why in news?

The Law Commission of India has said that a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is “neither necessary nor desirable at this stage.”

What are the observations made?

Uniformity - Difference does not always imply discrimination in a robust democracy.
So a unified nation does not necessarily need to have “uniformity.”
Cultural diversity cannot be compromised to the extent of preserving uniformity.
As, uniformity itself cannot become a threat to the territorial integrity of the nation.
Secularism - Secularism could not contradict the plurality prevalent in the country.
The term ‘secularism’ has meaning only if it assures the expression of any form of difference.
This diversity, both religious and regional, should not get subsumed under the louder voice of the majority.
However, discriminatory practices within a religion should not hide behind that faith to gain legitimacy.

What does the commission call for?

The commission stresses on efforts to reconcile the country's diversity with universal arguments on human rights.
Codification - The commission has called for the codification of all personal laws.
This would help in bringing to light the prejudices and stereotypes in all religion.
They can eventually be tested on the anvil of fundamental rights of the Constitution.
Universal principles - Codification of different personal laws could help arrive at certain universal principles.
These may facilitate prioritising equity rather than imposition of a Uniform Code.
A uniform code would only discourage many from using the law altogether.
This is especially given the fact that matters of marriage and divorce can be settled extra-judicially as well.
Amendments - The commission thus suggested certain measures in marriage and divorce.
These should be uniformly accepted in the personal laws of all religions.
These amendments in personal laws include

fixing the marriageable age for boys and girls at 18 years so that they marry as equals
making adultery a ground for divorce for men and women
simplifying divorce procedure

Polygamy - It suggested making polygamy a criminal offence and applying it to all communities.
This is not recommended owing to merely a moral position on bigamy, or to glorify monogamy.
It rather emanates from the fact that only a man is permitted multiple wives, which is unfair.

Source: The Hindu