UCC's aim to promote harmony, secularism: Allahabad High Court Judge

The judge made the remarks while addressing a provincial convention of the Legal Cell and High Court Unit of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) in the Library Hall of Allahabad High Court on Sunday.

Prayagraj: The main aim of the Uniform Civil Code is to promote social harmony, gender equality, and secularism, Allahabad High Court Justice Dr Shekhar Yadav has said.

The judge made the remarks while addressing a provincial convention of the Legal Cell and High Court Unit of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) in the Library Hall of Allahabad High Court here on Sunday.

Justice Yadav said the UCC has been a matter of debate in India for a long time.

"The main objective of the Uniform Civil Code is to promote social harmony, gender equality and secularism by eliminating unequal legal systems based on different religions and communities," he said, according to a press statement issued by the VHP.

"A Uniform Civil Code refers to a common law that applies to all religious communities in personal matters such as marriage, inheritance, divorce, adoption etc," he said.

"The aim of the Uniform Civil Code is to replace various personal laws that currently govern personal matters within different religious communities. Its goal is to ensure uniformity of laws not only between communities, but also within a community," the judge added. The chief guest, VHP national co-convener Abhishek Atrey, talked about the Waqf Amendment Act.

He also said, "Bangladesh looks like another Kashmir. We all have to stay united to protect our identity." Allahabad HC senior advocate V P Srivastava shared his experience on the topic 'Conversion - Causes and Prevention.' Activists from Jaunpur, Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Amethi, Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Bhadohi, Mirzapur, Chandauli, Sonbhadra, Ghazipur, and Varanasi were present in this convention.

On March 13 this year, President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Uniform Civil Code Bill, passed by the Uttarakhand Assembly on February 7, making it the first state in the country after Independence to adopt the UCC.

On December 6, the Centre rejected suggestions that it had issued guidelines to states to implement a UCC.

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, in a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha, asserted, "No such guidelines were issued by the Government of India to state governments for implementing the uniform civil code."

In its consultation paper issued on August 31, 2018, the 21st Law Commission, headed by Justice (retired) B S Chauhan, had said the diversity of India's culture can and should be celebrated, and specific groups or weaker sections of the society must not be "dis-privileged" in the process.

The commission had said it had dealt with laws that were discriminatory rather than providing a uniform civil code, "Which is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage."

The consultation paper said most countries are now moving towards recognition of difference, and the mere existence of difference does not imply discrimination but is indicative of a robust democracy.

A uniform civil code in India has been a key agenda of successive election manifestos of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.