Article 44 of the Constitution says the state shall endeavour to secure for citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India. The definition of ‘State’, as given in Article 12, includes the overnment and Parliament of India and the government and the legislature of each of the states and all local or other authorities within the territory of India or under the control of the Government of India. If state means state government or local or other authorities, does it mean states or local authorities can make a uniform civil code for the whole of India? It would be ridiculous to say the Uttarakhand Assembly or Dehra Dun Municipal Corporation could make a UCC for the entire country.

The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) calls for the formulation of one law for India, which would be applicable to all religious communities in matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption. The code comes under Article 44 of the Constitution, which lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for the citizens throughout the territory of India.

Importance

• The objective of Article 44 of the Directive Principles in the Indian Constitution was to address the discrimination against vulnerable groups and harmonise diverse cultural groups across the country.
• B R Ambedkar, while formulating the Constitution had said that a UCC is desirable but for the moment it should remain voluntary, and thus the Article 35 of the draft Constitution was added as a part of the Directive Principles of the State Policy in part IV of the Constitution of India as Article 44. It was incorporated in the Constitution as an aspect that would be fulfilled when the nation would be ready to accept it and the social acceptance to the UCC could be made.
• Secularism is the Preamble’s stated goal; a secular republic requires common law for all people rather than separate regulations based on religious traditions.
• The UCC attempts to safeguard vulnerable groups, including as women and religious minorities, as envisioned by Ambedkar, while simultaneously boosting nationalistic fervour via unity.
• The legislation will streamline the complicated regulations governing marriage ceremonies, inheritance, succession, and adoptions, making them one-size-fits-all. The same civil law will then apply to all people, regardless of faith.
• If a UCC is passed, all personal laws will be abolished. It will eliminate gender disparities in current legislation.
• The UCC aims to provide protection to vulnerable sections as envisaged by Ambedkar including women and religious minorities, while also promoting nationalistic fervour through unity. When enacted the code will work to simplify laws that are segregated at present on the basis of religious beliefs like the Hindu code bill, Shariat law, and others. The code will simplify the complex laws around marriage ceremonies, inheritance, succession, adoptions making them one for all.  The same civil law will then be applicable to all citizens irrespective of their faith.

Ambedkar in his speech in the Constituent Assembly had said, “No one need be apprehensive that if the State has the power, the State will immediately proceed to execute…that power in a manner may be found to be objectionable by the Muslims or by the Christians or by any other community. I think it would be a mad government if it did so.”

Challenges

• The call for a common civil code has been couched in terms of community politics. A considerable segment of society perceives it as majoritarianism disguised as social change.
• Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, which attempts to maintain the right to practise and spread any religion, contradicts the equality ideas established in Article 14 of the Indian Constitution.
• Exceptions in Central Family Laws: The opening parts of all central family law Acts approved by Parliament since Independence say that they apply to “the whole India save the state of Jammu and Kashmir.” In 1968, a second exemption was added to all of these Acts, stating that “nothing herein stated shall apply to the Renoncants in the Union Territory of Pondicherry.” A third exception is that none of these Acts apply in Goa, Daman, or Diu. A fourth exemption, pertaining to the north-eastern provinces of Nagaland and Mizoram, stems from Articles 371A and 371G of the Constitution, which say that no legislative legislation will replace the customary law and religion-based governance system.

The government and society will have to work hard to establish confidence, but more crucially, they will have to unite with social reformers rather than religious conservatives. Rather than an all-encompassing approach, the government might gradually include discrete features like as marriage, adoption, succession, and maintenance into a UCC. The need of the hour is the codification of all personal laws so that biases and stereotypes in each of them may be exposed and tested on the anvil of the Constitution’s fundamental rights.

How to structure

1. Give an intro of Article 44 of DPSP
2. Briefly mention the objectives
3. Mention the challenges faced in implementing them
4. Suggest way forward and Conclude

Reference:

1. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/expert-explains-issues-in-uniform-civil-code-7771828/