Law panel seeks views on UCC within 30 days

A notice issued by the Commission said those interested and willing may present their views within 30 days.

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Eight months after the Centre told the Supreme Court that the Constitution obligated the State to have a Uniform Civil Code for its citizens, and said that people of different religions and denominations following different property and matrimonial laws was an “affront to the nation’s unity”, the 22nd Law Commission of India Wednesday sought the views of the public and religious organisations on the matter.

A notice issued by the Commission said those interested and willing may present their views within 30 days.

It said the 21st Law Commission had initially examined the subject of UCC and solicited the views of all stakeholders on October 7, 2016 with further public appeals/notices on March 19, March 27 and April 10, 2018. After an overwhelming response, the 21st Law Commission, it said, came out with a consultation paper on ‘Reforms of Family Law’ on August 31, 2018.

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Since more than three years had lapsed after the issue of the consultation paper, and “bearing in mind the relevance and importance of the subject and also the various Court orders on the subject, the 22nd Law Commission of India considered it expedient to deliberate afresh over the subject”.

The notice said the stakeholders concerned are also at liberty to make submissions in the form of consultation/discussion/working papers on any of the issues pertaining to the UCC to the Member Secretary, Law Commission of India. “If need be, Commission may call upon any individual or organisation for a personal hearing or discussion,” it said.

The 22nd Law Commission is chaired by former Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi. Retired High Court judge Justice K T Sankaran, Professor Anand Paliwal, Professor D P Verma, Professor Raka Arya and M Karunanithi are its members.

Responding to petitions before the Supreme Court for uniformity in laws governing matters of divorce, succession, inheritance, adoption and guardianship, the Centre, in October 2022, underlined that the Constitution obligated the State to have a UCC for its citizens. It also submitted that the matter would be placed before the 22nd Law Commission.

Ananthakrishnan G

Ananthakrishnan G. is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express. He has been in the field for over 23 years, kicking off his journalism career as a freelancer in the late nineties with bylines in The Hindu. A graduate in law, he practised in the District judiciary in Kerala for about two years before switching to journalism. His first permanent assignment was with The Press Trust of India in Delhi where he was assigned to cover the lower courts and various commissions of inquiry. He reported from the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India during his first stint with The Indian Express in 2005-2006. Currently, in his second stint with The Indian Express, he reports from the Supreme Court and writes on topics related to law and the administration of justice. Legal reporting is his forte though he has extensive experience in political and community reporting too, having spent a decade as Kerala state correspondent, The Times of India and The Telegraph. He is a stickler for facts and has several impactful stories to his credit. ... Read More

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