Tag: Uniform Civil Code

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India News Politics Uttar Pradesh

Uttarakhand Cabinet approves draft UCC Bill

The draft of the UCC Bill was approved during a meeting at CM Dhami’s official residence on Sunday evening….reports Asian Lite News

The Uttarakhand Cabinet led by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday approved the draft of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill. The Bill would be taken up during the 4-day Assembly session, beginning on February 5 and continuing till February 8.

The draft of the UCC Bill was approved during a meeting at CM Dhami’s official residence on Sunday evening.

Meanwhile, the Muslim Seva Sangathan, based in the hill state, has opposed the Bill. Section 144 has been implemented to maintain law and order while the Bill is tabled in the Assembly, an official said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said that the Uniform Civil Code is in the consultation process and being reviewed by the Law Commission of India.

“This is not just the issue of the Centre; the makers of the Constitution had discussed this even when the Constitution was being made…Right now, this matter is under consideration with the Law Commission of India and is in the consultation process. The states can fix it or improve it, and the government of Goa has already worked on UCC. The Uttarakhand government has approved this in the cabinet and as soon as we get a report by the Law Commission, we will inform you…” said Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Monday that the state UCC Bill is the outcome of public dialogue, deliberation, and suggestions.

For the drafting of the Uniform Civil Code Bill, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister shared a graphic listing 72 meetings that were held by 5 member committees, adding 43 public outreach programs and 2.32 lakh suggestions that were received by the committee.

Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Assembly session will begin on Monday in Vidhan Bhavan, Dehradun, at 11 am.

In this special session of the Assembly, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s government will table the Uniform Civil Code Bill tomorrow, February 6.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill will be tabled in the upcoming session of the Assembly after a draft report related to UCC got approved at a Cabinet meeting on Sunday.

The UCC proposes uniform civil laws for all communities in the state.

“In the cabinet meeting on Sunday, a proposal to bring a bill on Uniform Civil Code in the upcoming Assembly session was unanimously passed. We will table it in the Assembly. We will move forward in the direction to make it an Act,” Chief Minister Dhami told ANI.

Earlier, a draft of the UCC was handed over to the Chief Minister by the five-member committee headed by retired Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai.

The UCC drafting panel also comprised retired justice Pramod Kohli, social activist Manu Gaur, former Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Shatrughan Singh and Vice Chancellor of Doon University, Surekha Dangwal. The drafting panel was given a total of four extensions.

The UCC will provide a legal framework for uniform marriage, divorce, land, property and inheritance laws for all citizens, irrespective of their religion.

The passage of the UCC Bill will mark the fulfillment of a major promise made by the BJP to the people of the state in the run-up to the 2022 Assembly polls.

Earlier, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami informed that the draft report consists of 740 pages and has four volumes, which include suggestions from 2,33,000 people in the state.

“The village, which is known as the last village of India, was referred to by the PM as the first village, so the committee started the work of taking suggestions from their only, and other 43 places. A total of 2,33,000 people gave suggestions on it which includes 10 per of the families of Uttarakhand,” Chief Minister Dhami said.

At its very first meeting in the second term, in March 2022, the Dhami government decided to constitute a committee to prepare a draft for the UCC.

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SC seeks Centre’s reply on Uniform Civil Code

A clutch of pleas filed by lawyer and BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay and another petitioner, Lubna Qureshi, pointed at anomalies in various laws on divorce, marriage, succession, adoption and maintenance prevailing for different religions…reports Asian Lite News

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to make its stand clear, within three weeks, on the feasibility of implementing a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) U U Lalit and justice S Ravindra Bhat was dealing with a batch of petitions seeking uniformity in laws for age of marriage, grounds of divorce, succession, adoption, guardianship and maintenance when it noted that these issues are various “facets” of UCC and directed the Centre to file its response on each aspect.

“These petitions are seeking common marriage, divorce, adoption, succession and maintenance laws. What is the difference between these matters? They are all facets of Uniform Civil Code,” the bench said.

“Let a comprehensive response be filed, indicating the stand of the Union government in respect of issues raised in this batch of petitions,” it added.

A clutch of pleas filed by lawyer and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay and another petitioner, Lubna Qureshi, has pointed at anomalies in various laws on divorce, marriage, succession, adoption and maintenance prevailing for different religions.

In his plea, Upadhyay sought uniformity in grounds for which divorce is granted. Adultery is a ground for Hindus, Christians and Parsis but not for Muslims, he said.

Likewise, incurable leprosy is a ground of divorce for Hindus and Muslims but not for Christians and Parsis. Also, under age marriage is a ground of divorce for Hindus but not for Christians, Parsis and Muslims, he said.

In case of adoptions, only Hindus have a codified law under which an adopted child has the right to inherit property and be recognised as a biological child of the adopted parents, Upadhyay said. The case is not the same for Muslims, Christians and Parsis, he added.

Upadhyay’s petition also said women across religions ought to be treated equally. Religious practices which deny them their fundamental rights should not be protected, he said.

“We are considering what response the Centre will file and what kind of judicial process we can issue in this matter. Assuming we might issue a mandamus (writ giving a direction), can we issue a mandamus itself is in question and also whether you intend to place such a bill in Parliament,” the bench said.

Appearing for the Centre, solicitor general Tushar Mehta said it would essentially be a question of law. “If need be, we will put in a reply in three weeks,” he said.

Opposing the pleas, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and a Muslim woman, Amina Sherwani, filed intervention applications in the top court, alleging attempts were being made to bring in the UCC through the backdoor.

Appearing for the Muslim Personal Law Board, senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi along with advocate M R Shamshad said Upadhyay, in 2015, had raised similar prayers in a writ petition filed in the top court which he withdrew.

The BJP leader later filed a petition seeking enforcement of UCC before Delhi high court, which is still pending, the lawyers said.

The petitioner has not mentioned this fact in the present set of petitions and should be asked to summon the record of his earlier petition, Huzefa told the bench.

Though the top court, in the past, had advised the Centre to give a thought for having UCC, the judiciary has left it to the legislative wisdom without entering the domain reserved for Parliament.

Taking note of the submissions, the bench told Upadhyay: “You should be fair to this court. Check your petition and file the same before us on the next date of hearing.”

Upadhyay said his earlier petition was on implementing Article 44 of the Constitution which says “the state shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.”

He said he withdrew this (earlier) plea with a liberty to approach the Law Commission of India on this aspect. The present petitions are not on UCC, he said.

“I am not seeking UCC. In these petitions, I have endeavoured to show anomalies that exist in the country which make laws on marriage, divorce, adoption, maintenance, and succession apply differently to women of different religions. This violates their fundamental rights under Articles 14 (equality), 15 (right against discrimination) and 21 (life and liberty),” he said.

To this, the bench said: “Even matrimonial issues are one of the facets of UCC.”

The Muslim Personal Law Board also informed the bench that the same petitioner has challenged ‘nikah halala’ and other forms of marriage under Muslim laws and that his prayers are of similar nature and pending before a Constitution Bench.

The bench sought details of the petitions, seeking uniform marriage laws pending in the Supreme Court, and directed them to be tagged with the present set of petitions.

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Rijiju drops hints on party’s stand on Uniform Civil Code

BSP’s Kunwar Danish Ali said that it should not be part of proceeding, saying “when India is multicultural democracy, how could it be one party’s ideology”…reports Asian Lite News

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju dropped hints in Parliament on Tuesday over his party’s stand on the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

The minister was responding to a question by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey who asked Rijiju if the time has arrived for the implementation of the UCC.

Dubey also wanted to know the Central government’s stand on the matter.

Responding to the query, the Law Minister said: “You know what our government’s thinking is. Whatever is our ideology, consider it as the country’s ideology. Whatever we think… is for the country… I’m proud of it.”

Notably, just a few days ago, Rijiju had said in Parliament that no decision has been yet taken by the government on the implementation of the UCC in the country as the matter is still subjudice with some petitions pending in the Supreme Court.

Rijuju’s statement “Party’s ideology is country’s ideology” was, however, strongly objected by the opposition Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MPs.

BSP’s Kunwar Danish Ali said that it should not be part of proceeding, saying “when India is multicultural democracy, how could it be one party’s ideology”.

Amid criticism from the Congress over the Centre’s ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ movement, Kiren Rijiju had earlier alleged that the party is ‘dismissive’ of attempts to galvanise patriotism in the country.

Speaking to ANI, Rijiju said, “Congress party does not have any agenda at hand, no agenda, no issue, no business in their hands. That’s why they’re raising irrelevant issues which are detrimental to the national interest.”

 “Instead of playing a supporting role to do any honour to the country, they will always be dismissive of any attempts or steps to galvanise patriotism or nationalism in the country. Congress party is completely bankrupt,” he added.

To strengthen the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ movement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged people to hoist or display the tricolour at their homes between August 13 and 15 stating that this movement will deepen our connect with the national flag.

“One nation, one identity- Our Tiranga! In the 75th year of our independence, let’s bring our National Flag home, proudly fly it from 13th to 15th August and show the world we are one! HarGharTiranga,” the Ministry of Culture tweeted.’

‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ is an initiative by the Ministry of Culture to mark celebrations for India’s 75th year of Independence.

As part of the campaign, citizens will be encouraged to hoist the tricolour at their homes during August 13-15.

The initiative will inspire the public to hoist the national flag in their homes. The idea behind the initiative was to invoke the feeling of patriotism in the hearts of the people.

Ministry of Culture is Nodal Agency for the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign and Ministry will seek help from State Governments to mobilize all resources, housing, and urban development departments and local bodies including municipal bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions for furthering the goals of the campaign.

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BJP MPs to introduce uniform civil code in RS

The other work in the Upper House includes the presentation of reports of the Department related to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare…reports Asian Lite News.

In the Rajya Sabha on Friday, BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena will introduce ‘The Uniform Civil Code in India Bill, 2020’, seeking constitution of the National Inspection and Investigation Committee for preparation of ‘Uniform Civil Code’ and its implementation throughout India.

BJP MP Harnath Singh Yadav will introduce the Population Control Bill and NCP MP Fauzia Khan will be introducing the ‘Universal Health Care Bill in the Upper House.

Friday is dedicated for members to move the Private Bills.

YSR Congress Party MP Vijayasai Reddy V. will move three Bills — The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2020 to further to amend the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009; The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (insertion of new Article 21B); and The Indian Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

Another MP Y.S. Chowdhury will move The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (insertion of new Articles 12A and 12B).

The other work in the Upper House includes the presentation of reports of the Department related to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare. The Committee in its 130th report on action taken by the government on the recommendations/ observations contained in its 123rd Report on “Outbreak of Pandemic Covid-19 and its Management”; Report of the Committee on Empowerment of Women (2019-20) on action taken by the government on the recommendations contained in the 14th report (16th Lok Sabha) of the Committee (2018-19) on ‘Yoga And Sports Facilities for Women’ will also be presented.

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