The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that the time has come for the introduction of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country.
The Supreme Court made these observations while marking a plea seeking to strike down the provisions of the Act 1937 Sharia Law for discrimination against Muslim women as a “very good case” that should only be taken up by the legislature, news agency PTI reported.
Supreme Court Bench Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and R Mahadevan said that if the court struck down Sharia inheritance law, it would create a legal vacuum as there was no statutory law governing Muslim inheritance.
CJI Kant told advocate Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for the petitioners: “In our over-anxiousness for reforms, we may end up shorting them and they may end up getting less than they are already getting. If the 1937 Sharia law goes away, then what is the question? Will it not create an unnecessary void?”
Justice Bagchi said: “You have a very good case for discrimination, but it would not be appropriate for the court to defer to the wisdom of the legislature, which has the mandate to enact Uniform Civil Code according to the Directive Principles of State Policy.”
CJI Kant said, “The answer is the Uniform Civil Code.”
Justice Bagchi pointed out that the ‘one woman for one man’ rule is not uniformly applied to all communities.
“But does that mean the court can declare all bigamous marriages unconstitutional? So we have to leave it to the legislature to put the principles of the directive into effect,” he said, adding that the matter is best left to legislative wisdom.
Justice Bagchi further said, “This Court has time and again advised the legislatures to enact a Uniform Civil Code.”
The answer is the Uniform Civil Code.
At the outset, Bhushan said that the court can declare that Muslim women are entitled to the same inheritance rights as men, and that if the court strikes down the law, the provisions of the Indian Succession Act will apply. Application of Muslim Personal Law (Sharia) Act 1937.
