Former apex court judge A R Lakshmanan speaking at an event. (Source: YouTube screen-grab/File) Former apex court judge A R Lakshmanan speaking at an event. (Source: YouTube screen-grab/File)

Eight months after the Supreme Court asked the Centre whether it was willing to bring a Uniform Civil Code to ride over inconsistent personal laws in different religions, the Law Ministry has asked the Law Commission to “examine the matter” and submit a report.

The move has set off a controversy with the Congress saying the BJP was “deliberately” raking up the issue with an eye on the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. But the BJP said the issue has always been on its agenda and it wants a debate on it.

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Significantly, in its 211 and 212th reports — on registration of marriages and civil marriages respectively — that were out in February 2008, the Law Commission, then headed by former Supreme Court judge A R Lakshmanan, had urged the UPA government to bring matters relating to marriages and divorces under a uniform law. The commission had taken up the subject suo motu in the light of directions of the Supreme Court in 2006 that all marriages shall be compulsorily registered.

Speaking to The Indian Express today, Justice Lakshmanan regretted that the UPA “did nothing” even after accepting his reports.

“Everything was put in cold storage by the previous government. They did nothing about it. I am disappointed that no effort was made to examine the feasibility of the Uniform Civil Code,” said the retired judge.

Justice Lakshmanan added that his reports were elaborate and pointed specifically towards the need to have a common code in the larger public interest but the government simply sat over it.

“It is good if the present government wants to do something about it. The incumbent Chairperson of the Law Commission would do good if he refers to all the previous reports on the issue and also the Supreme Court judgments on it,” he said. The former judge underscored that all materials on the Uniform Civil Code should be re-looked and concrete steps must be taken towards it.

The implementation of the Uniform Civil Code — a common set of laws governing personal matters for all citizens of the country, irrespective of religion — along with abrogation of Article 370 and construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya have been the BJP’s key demands. These were relegated to the backburner during th first NDA which cited coalition compulsions.

“Is it not very interesting that whenever we come near major elections, you today throw Ayodhya, tomorrow throw, before the UP elections, the uniform civil code…the day after, I am sure, before another election, Article 370…and you shoot and scoot. Has anything concrete ever been done by the Government except this policy of deliberately creating a divisive atmosphere by deliberately raising and making such issues for crass political gains,” asked Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi.

As for his party’s stand on the code, Singhvi said it must be “supported by near unanimous, universal consensus or predominant consensus which must be generated amongst political parties, stakeholders and all diverse elements.”

“Certainly, if genuine efforts are made to generate that consensus, a time may arrive when something can be done in that direction. But if it is a political stuntbaazi which is what we believe it is every time as far as the BJP is concerned then certainly we condemn it,” Singhvi said.

“There have been earlier Law Commission reports . But the real matter is not the reference…the real matter is that if you are serious why do you raise it and throw it like this before the elections. Let us what concrete step is taken to generate a consensus,” he said.

In its reports in 2008, the Commission asserted that bringing uniformity in personal laws “will be in accordance with the underlying principle of Article 44 of the Constitution of India relating to Uniform Civil Code.”

Article 44 of the Constitution, which is one of the Directive Principles of State Policy, says: “The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.”

Directive Principles, as Article 37 makes clear, are not enforceable by any court but a body of judicial precedents says that they are fundamental in the governance of the country, and the State shall strive towards fulfilling obligations laid therein.

The commission’s reports had underlined what it called the need to have common codes to regulate affairs such as marriage and divorce.

It had complained about “tremendous diversity of laws relating to registration of marriages making it complicated and confusing” while asking the then UPA government to enact a Central law to deal with registration of marriages irrespective of religion and personal law and without any exceptions.

The Commission had also recommended a “Marriage Act” to govern all marriages across religions and communities. The reports were submitted by Justice Lakshmanan to then Union Law Minister H R Bhardwaj. Bhardwaj was unavailable for comment today.

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