The Law Commission will hold consultations with political groups and religious scholars to deliberate on whether it is the right time for the Uniform Civil Code, The Indian Express reported on Friday. The consultations come at a time when the Rajya Sabha has yet to decide on the triple talaq bill.
The Uniform Civil Code has been a contentious issue. Currently, major religious groups in India have separate personal laws for matters like marriage and inheritance. The Uniform Civil Code seeks to replace these separate codes and create a common law for every Indian citizen.
“We are looking at the issue of Uniform Civil Code,” Law Commission Chairperson Justice (Retd) BS Chauhan told The Indian Express. “If, after detailed consultations, the commission comes to the conclusion that the time is not right or that it is not in the interest of national integration, then we will recommend only a review of personal laws of all religions.”
In October 2016, the Law Commission had issued a 16-point questionnaire to elicit opinion on the Uniform Civil Code. The questionnaire has so far received 60,000 responses.
Justice Chauhan said the commission had expected the five-judge constitutional bench, which struck down the practice of instant triple talaq in August, would have discussed the Uniform Civil Code as well. “But it never came up. We spent many months after the judgment segregating several responses on triple talaq from those on Uniform Civil Code. We will now start our work,” he added.
The Law Commission will also look at practices that are gender-discriminatory such as polyandry, Naata Pratha in Rajasthan – where a man is allowed to live with a woman he is not married to by paying money, or Gujarat’s Maitri Karar that allows a man to live with someone other than his spouse, The Indian Express reported. The Law Commission will also take a re-look at the family laws, coded or otherwise, of all religions as well as tribal or customary laws.
The commission is expected submit its report on the matter before August 30, 2018.
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