What’s a Uniform Civil Code?
The term civil code is used to cover the entire body of laws regarding rights regarding property and personal
matters like marriage, divorce, maintenance, adoption and inheritance. Currently, there are different laws
governing these aspects of different communities in India. Thus, the laws governing inheritance or divorce
among Hindus would be different from those pertaining to Muslims or Christians. The demand for a uniform
civil code means unifying all “personal laws” to have one set of laws that will apply to Indian citizens
irrespective of their religious community. Though the exact contours of such a uniform code are not clear, it
should incorporate the most modern and progressive aspects of existing personal laws while discarding the
retrograde.

What does the Indian constitution say on the subject?
Article 44, a ‘‘directive principle” laid down in the Constitution says: “The State shall endeavor to secure for the
citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.” As Article 37 of the Constitution itself makes
clear, the “directive principles” shall not be enforceable by any court”. Nevertheless, they are “fundamental in
the governance of the country”.

What has the Supreme court said on the subject?
Very recently, while hearing a case pertaining to whether a Christian has the right to bequeath property to a
charity, the court regretted the fact that the state had not yet implemented a uniform civil code. This is not the
first time that the apex court has expressed itself in flavour of a uniform civil code or taken a dim view of the
government’s inability to bring it into being. There have been other occasions - like during the Shah Bano case
and later in the Sarla Mudgal case - where too the apex court came out strongly in favour of the uniform civil
code. However, none of these comments are binding on the legislature and do not amount to orders. At best,
they exert some moral pressure on the Indian state to move towards a uniform civil code.

Would a uniform code affect the personal laws of only one community?
Not at all. The perception that a uniform civil code would necessitate changes in only Muslim personal law is
incorrect. As women’s organizations and others have repeatedly pointed out, personal laws governing different
communities in India have a common feature – they are all gender-biased. For instance, the law pertaining to
succession among Hindus is unequal in the way it treats men and women. A truly modern and progressive code
would, therefore, mean changes in all personal laws. The concept of the “Hindu Undivided Family”, so far as it
pertains to succession, would also obviously have to undergo a change under a uniform civil code. Similarly,
Muslim, Christian and other personal laws too would have to change. This also explains why historically
changes in personal law have been resisted not just by one community, but by the ruling orthodoxy in all of
them.