What Are All India Muslim Personal Law Board's Various Objections Against Uniform Civil Code? Read Here

All India Muslim Personal Law Board has submitted its response to the Law Commission's public notice with respect to the Uniform Civil Code and said that it is reasonably apprehended by the Muslims in India that the raking of the topic of UCC is with the objective of putting the system of Muslim personal law in peril."Personal relationship of Muslims, guided by their personal laws, is directly derived from the Holy Quran and Sunnah (Islamic laws) and this aspect is linked with the identity of Muslims in India. Muslims in India will not be agreeable to lose this identity of which there is space within the constitutional framework of our country. National integrity, safety and security and fraternity is best preserved and maintained if we maintain the diversity of our country by permitting minorities and tribal communities to be governed by their own personal laws," the Board said in its 37-page response.Citing the example of instances of ban on the right to wear hijab in educational institutions, the Board said, “to start a debate putting the Muslim Personal Law into focus is perceived as an attack on their identity”. “These fears are compounded by the law commission following an utterly arbitrary and unfair procedure inviting the response on terms which are vague and within a unreasonably short span of 30 days,” it added.Fundamentalist Right To Freedom Of Conscience The Board said that Articles 25 and 26 guarantee freedom of conscience, the free profession, practice, and propagation of religion, as well as the right to manage religious affairs by every denomination or any section thereof. It said that Article 25 itself accommodates different religious practices for different classes of citizens.Gender Equality Gaps Exists Not Only In Codified Personal Laws But also In ‘Uniform Matrimonial Law’According to the Board, there is a presence of gender equality gaps not only in the existing codified community-based family laws, particularly of the majority community, but also in the "so-called uniform general matrimonial laws" that are often "portrayed as successful models of uniform matrimonial laws", such as the family laws in Goa and the Special Marriage Act, 1954.The Board cited instances of laws in Goa that provide for a Hindu husband to take a second wife in the absence of an issue if the wife has attained the age of 25, as per Article 3 of the Decree of Gentile Hindu Usages and Customs of Goa, 1880. Furthermore, if the wife has reached the age of 30 without having a son, the same provision applies, it said.Equality before law and Equal Protection Of Law Under Muslim LawThe Board said the Constitution of India guarantees ‘equality before law’ and ‘equal protection of law’ but it also establishes ‘reasonable classification’ based on ‘intelligible differentia’."Common law system has created these principles which we term as ‘constitutional principles’. In the same way believers of Islam believe in ‘equality before law’ and ‘equal protection of law’ which is a part of Quran and Sunnah. Like, inheritance and succession in Islam amongst the co-sharers is based upon ‘equity’ and not on abstract ‘equality’. This Islamic ‘equity’ in this regard is relatable to contemporary constitutional terms such as ‘reasonable classification’ and ‘intelligible differentia’," it added.Diversity Under Constitution Maintains National IntegrationReferring to the special protections given under Article 371A, 371B, 371C and other similar articles of the Indian Constitution, the Board said that to maintain the diversity inherent in our federal polity, the scheme outlined in the Constitution of India to consolidate the nation is not, and cannot be, uniform.Pakistan Does Not Unify The Entire Civil Law Irrespective Of Majoritarian Religious BeliefThe board has cited the example of Pakistan which has a separate legislation ‘Hindu Marriage Act, 2015’ to provide for special form of marriage and annulment among Hindus as per the customs and practices recognized within the Hindu community there. “The effort has not been made to unify the entire civil law irrespective of majoritarian religious belief,” it said.Supreme Court Observations On UCC Is Not Relevant To Muslim Personal Law Sarla Mudgal Case (1995) 3 SCC 635; Lily Thomas Case (2000) 6 SCC 224The Board has argued that the facts of the Sarla Mudgal case had nothing to do with Muslims or Islamic Law. “Be it the Thomas case or the Mudgal case, the issue was of Hindu married men committing bigamy to avail a second marriage, without dissolving the first and just by converting from Hinduism to Islam,” it said.Perusing the part of Sarkar Mudgal Case, wherein it stated that, “Marriage, succession and like matters of a secular character cannot be brought within the guarantee enshrined under Articles 25, 26 and 27. The personal law of the Hindus, such as relating to marriage, succession and the like have all a sacramental origin, in the same manner as in the case of the Muslims or the Christians”,...

What Are All India Muslim Personal Law Board's Various Objections Against Uniform Civil Code? Read Here

Aiman J. Chishti

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