{"id":68608,"date":"2026-03-11T20:42:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T15:12:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=68608"},"modified":"2026-03-11T20:46:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T15:16:52","slug":"uniform-civil-code-sc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/11-03-2026\/uniform-civil-code-sc","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court Reiterates Support for Uniform Civil Code"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/ Polity and Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Supreme Court of India <strong>reiterated its support for a Uniform Civil Code, <\/strong>observing that a common civil law framework would help address complexities arising from multiple personal laws governing marriage, divorce, and succession across communities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Supreme Court\u2019s Observations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The petition before the court challenges provisions of the <strong>Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937,<\/strong> arguing that it discriminates against Muslim women in matters such as inheritance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Court stated that striking down personal law provisions may create a legal vacuum regarding inheritance rules.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It emphasised that a <strong>Uniform Civil Code<\/strong> would provide a clearer and more comprehensive solution to ensure equality in personal laws, which requires legislative action, not only judicial decisions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is Uniform Civil Code (UCC)<\/strong><strong>?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>A Uniform Civil Code refers<\/strong> to the provision of one law for the entire country, applicable to all religious communities, in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Aim: <\/strong>To replace the existing diverse personal laws that vary based on religious affiliations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Constitutional Provisions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Article 44 <\/strong>contained in <strong>part IV <\/strong>of the Constitution says that the state \u201cshall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India\u201d.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Part IV of the Constitution <\/strong>outlines the <strong>Directive Principles of State Policy, <\/strong>which, while not enforceable or justiciable in a court of law, are fundamental to the country\u2019s governance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>UCC in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>UCC in Goa:<\/strong> It follows the <strong>Portuguese Civil Code of 1867, <\/strong>which means that people of all religions in Goa are subject to the same laws on marriage, divorce, and succession.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Goa Daman and Diu Administration Act of 1962<\/strong>, which was passed after Goa joined the union as a territory in <strong>1961<\/strong>, gave Goa permission to apply the Civil Code.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In 2024, The Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly passed The <strong>Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand Act, 2024<\/strong>, becoming the first Indian State to adopt a UCC post-independence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Arguments in favor of UCC<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Uniformity in Governance:<\/strong> Having a common set of laws would streamline governance and administrative processes, making it easier for the state to administer justice and ensure the rights of its citizens.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Women&#8217;s Rights:<\/strong> Personal laws in different religions have discriminatory provisions, particularly against women, and a uniform code will provide a more egalitarian legal framework.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Secularism: <\/strong>A Uniform Civil Code is seen as a way to reinforce the secular fabric of the country by treating all citizens equally irrespective of their religious affiliations.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Supreme Court<\/strong> in various judgments including <strong>Mohd. Ahmed Khan vs Shah Bano Begum judgment of 1985,<\/strong> has called for the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Promote national Spirit:<\/strong> The implementation of a UCC will promote the integration of India by establishing a shared platform for diverse communities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Arguments against UCC<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Issues with implementation:<\/strong> The implementation of the code has been difficult because India is a diverse country with various religious communities following their own personal laws.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It has been argued that the marriage and death rituals observed by<strong> tribal communities<\/strong> differ from Hindu customs, and there is concern that these practices may also face prohibition.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Challenge for Law and Order: <\/strong>It would be a tyranny to the minority and when implemented could bring a lot of unrest in the country.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Against Constitutional provisions:<\/strong> UCC is perceived as an infringement upon the constitutional right to freely exercise one\u2019s chosen religion found in <strong>Article 25 and 26<\/strong> and the <strong>Sixth Schedule<\/strong> of the Constitution<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Build broad social consensus: <\/strong>The government should undertake wide consultations with religious leaders, legal experts, civil society groups, and minority communities to ensure that the framework reflects India\u2019s pluralistic character and reduces apprehensions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Focus on gender justice: <\/strong>The primary objective should be to remove discriminatory provisions in personal laws, particularly those affecting women in matters of marriage, divorce, maintenance, and inheritance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/legal-news\/chandigarh\/ciac-spark-cultural-shift-dispute-resolution-10575247\/?ref=infinite\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The Supreme Court of India reiterated its support for a Uniform Civil Code, observing that a common civil law framework would help address complexities arising from multiple personal laws governing marriage, divorce, and succession across communities. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Supreme Court\u2019s Observations <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The petition before the court challenges provisions of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, arguing that it discriminates against Muslim women in matters such as inheritance. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The Court stated that striking down personal law provisions may create a legal vacuum regarding inheritance rules. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> It emphasised that a Uniform Civil Code would provide a clearer and more comprehensive solution to ensure equality in personal laws, which requires legislative action, not only judicial decisions. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/11-03-2026\/uniform-civil-code-sc \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68608"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68611,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68608\/revisions\/68611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}