New Law panel may examine demand for uniform civil code

In an earlier reply to Parliament, Kiren Rijiju stated that issues pertaining to UCC will examined by the Law Commission

Kiren Rijiju | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Days after the Gujarat government announced setting up a committee on the implementation of the uniform civil code (UCC) and the BJP promising UCC in poll-bound Himachal Pradesh, the Union Law Ministry finally made appointments to the 22^nd Law Commission that is likely to examine the issue in detail.

Late on Monday night, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju took to Twitter to announce the appointment of retired high court Chief Justice Rituraj Awasthi as the chairperson of the Commission.

Justice K.T. Sankaran, Prof. Anand Paliwal, Prof. D.P. Verma, Prof. Raka Arya and Shri M. Karunanithi are the other members of the Commission.

The Law Commission, which advises the government on various legal issues, usually gets a term of three years and the latest law panel was notified over two years ago in February 2020. However, with barely three and half months to go for the three-year term to expire, the timing of the appointments becomes significant. It could indicate the Narendra Modi government’s intent in taking up UCC as a major political issue before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

In its 2019 poll manifesto too, the BJP had mentioned implementing a common civil code, a long-held political project of the ruling party. Though BJP States – Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh – have already talked about implementing it in their respective States on the lines of a common civil code in Goa, some legal experts argue that the issue has to be dealt with only by Parliament of India.

In January last year, responding to a question from BJP Lok Sabha member Nishikant Dubey, Mr. Rijiju wrote to Mr. Dubey stating that saying Article 44 of the Constitution provides that the State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a UCC throughout the territory of India.

“In view of the importance of the subject matter and sensitivity involved and it requiring in-depth study of the provisions of various personal laws governing different communities, a proposal to examine issues relating to uniform civil code and to make recommendations has been forwarded to the 21^st Law Commission of India,” the Law Minister wrote in his reply.

Comment | The future of a Uniform Civil Code

However, the term of the 21^st Law Commission ended on August 31, 2018, Mr. Rijiju added, “The 22^nd Law Commission of India may take up the matter”.