"States Race to Draft Uniform Civil Codes Amid Gender Justice Concerns"
Uniform Civil Code (UCC)
A single set of laws governing marriage, divorce and inheritance for all citizens regardless of religion.
Directive Principles of State Policy
Non-justiciable constitutional guidelines directing state policy-making, found in Part IV of the Constitution.
India's personal laws on marriage, divorce, inheritance and maintenance are religion-specific, a legacy of colonial-era codification that dealt separately with Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Parsis. The Constituent Assembly debated a common civil code but placed it in Article 44 as a Directive Principle of State Policy rather than a Fundamental Right, making it non-justiciable given the political sensitivities of the period. Framers such as B.R. Ambedkar saw it as a long-term goal, not an immediate mandate.
The Hindu Code Bills of the 1950s reformed marriage, succession and adoption for Hindus but left other communities' personal laws untouched. The Shah Bano case (1985) upheld a Muslim divorced woman's maintenance claim under Section 125 of the CrPC, triggering the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, which narrowed that right. The Supreme Court has since repeatedly urged Parliament to enact a UCC, in Sarla Mudgal (1995) and John Vallamattom (2003), without binding effect. The 22nd Law Commission reopened public consultations on the UCC, and the debate gained a concrete legal draft only when Uttarakhand's UCC came into force in early 2025.
The constitutional debate over the UCC sits at the intersection of Article 44 (which favours uniformity), Articles 25 and 26 (which protect an individual's and a religious denomination's freedom of religion), and Articles 14 and 15 (which guarantee equality and forbid discrimination). Courts have increasingly distinguished the free practice of faith from the regulation of women's civil rights carried out in religion's name, a distinction sharpened by rulings such as the Sabarimala judgment on gender access to worship.
The Uttarakhand UCC illustrates how this constitutional balance can tilt away from protection and towards control. It makes registration of live-in relationships compulsory, with police and parental notification, which functions as surveillance rather than a benefit-granting mechanism. …
Explain the constitutional perspectives of Gender Justice with the help of relevant Constitutional Provisions and case laws.
Consider the following statements regarding the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in India:
1.Article 44 of the Constitution places the UCC under the Directive Principles of State Policy.
2.The Supreme Court's judgment in the Shah Bano case (1985) created a binding constitutional obligation on Parliament to enact a UCC.
3.Uttarakhand was the first state in independent India to bring a Uniform Civil Code into force.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following statements about constitutional provisions relevant to personal laws in India:
1.Article 25 guarantees freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion, subject to public order, morality and health.
2.Article 26 gives religious denominations the right to manage their own religious affairs.
3.Personal laws relating to marriage, divorce and inheritance are placed beyond the legislative competence of Parliament.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following statements:
1.Directive Principles of State Policy are non-justiciable and cannot be enforced directly by courts.
2.Article 37 declares the Directive Principles fundamental in the governance of the country.
3.The Uniform Civil Code under Article 44 is a Fundamental Right enforceable in a court of law.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Match List-I (Personal Law/Statute) with List-II (Distinctive Provision on Maintenance/Inheritance) and select the correct answer using the codes given below:
List-I:
A.Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
B.Special Marriage Act, 1954
C.Muslim personal law
D.Hindu succession law
List-II:
1.Only the wife can claim maintenance
2.Either spouse can claim maintenance
3.Absolute testamentary freedom over self-acquired property
4.A protected inheritance share that cannot be willed away
Consider the following statements regarding maintenance rights in Indian personal laws:
1.Under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, either spouse may claim maintenance from the other.
2.Under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, only the wife is entitled to claim maintenance.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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