On Monday, the Supreme Court requested the Centre’s response to a slew of petitions seeking uniformity in various aspects of personal law. The petitions were filed by BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, who sought uniformity in the age of marriage, divorce procedure, maintenance, inheritance, and adoption rights for all Indians, regardless of religion. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Union government, asked for more time to file a response.
Ashwini Upadhyay stated about his PILs, ‘The first PIL seeks uniform marriage age, the second uniform grounds for divorce and divorce procedure, the third uniform maintenance and alimony for all ladies, the fourth uniform succession in heritance, and the fifth uniform adoption and guardianship. In 2021, the Supreme Court issued the notice. But we have yet to receive a single response. Tushar Mehta, the Centre’s learned Solicitor General, appeared in court today and requested three weeks to clear their stance’.
‘The court instructed you to file a response, and we will hear this matter after vacation. My contention is that we are a secular country because we are governed by secular law. We have the Constitution. As a result, the marriage age should not differ between Hindus and Muslims, the adoption procedure should not differ between Hindus and Muslims, and the grounds for divorce and the divorce procedure should not differ between Hindus and Muslims. Every girl should have the same adoption and guardianship. I am hopeful that the Centre will support my PILs ‘, he added.
UCC’s Clamour
These petitions are significant in light of India’s demand for a Uniform Civil Code. While the UCC is mentioned in Article 44 of the Constitution, which states, ‘The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India,’ it is not binding because it is part of the Constitution’s Directive Principles of State Policy. On November 18, 2021, the Allahabad High Court ruled that a UCC is required and directed the Centre to form a committee to oversee its implementation.
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