'UCC, a constitutional ambition': SC notice to Centre on plea challenging Muslim women's inheritance rights

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has nothing to do with any particular religion and it is a constitutional ambition, as it decided to examine a plea about discrimination faced by Muslim women in respect of their inheritance rights.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi sought the Centre's response on a plea challenging the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, on the ground that those are allegedly discriminatory against women.

The court issued a notice to the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, upon considering the submissions by advocate Prashant Bhushan, for petitioners Poulomi Pavini Shukla and the Nyaya Naari Foundation.

Bhushan contended that it was discriminatory to say that women will get half or even less than what their male counterparts will get by way of inheritance.

“Now, the question is whether it is an essential religious practice protected, for example, in triple talaq, this court held, is not an essential religious practice. This is purely a civil matter. It can’t be essential religious practice protected under Article 25 of the Constitution," Bhushan said.

The bench, however, said someone will argue it is a question of personal law.

Bhushan replied that it may be a question of personal law but not an essential religious practice, and it is not protected under Article 25, and in the absence of that protection, it is certainly subject to Article 14 and ex facie discriminatory.

The counsel said the question is what will happen if it is struck down, and if the court says that Sharia law will not apply, then one non-discriminatory law which can be applied is the Indian Succession Act, which is completely agnostic towards male and females.

He said Hindu succession law is codified by Hindu Succession Act and only the Muslim succession law is not codified and that is the only law which is not codified.

He claimed that the rules of succession under Sharia law are so complicated that it is even impossible for lawyers to discern what is the succession practice under Sharia law.

"I have always told my Muslim friends also, please do not to oppose the Uniform Civil Code (UCC),'' he said, adding that they feared that in the name of UCC, the Hindu civil code will be imposed on them.

“It is a constitutional declaration. UCC has nothing to do with any religion, particularly. It is a constitutional ambition," the bench said.

Bhushan agreed that it is a constitutional ambition for good reason because civil law should be uniform.

The bench also pointed out the Special Marriage Act (SMA) is one of the steps towards uniformity in matrimony.

Bhushan said the 1937 Act violated Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution.

The plea claimed the current Shariat inheritance rules were "manifestly discriminatory" against women, often granting them only half or less of the share allocated to their male counterparts.