Supreme Court Notes Lack Of Progress On Uniform Civil Code Despite Backing Of Directive Principles And Past Judgments

Highlighting the endorsement made by its own previous judgments, as well as the directive principles of state policy in the constitution, for a common system of personal laws to be created, the Supreme Court has noted how there has been a complete lack of progress in introducing a uniform civil code (UCC), reports The Times of India.

The bench made the comments while adjudicating an inheritance case where the petitioner belonged to Goa, which the court noted was the only state in the country which had something akin to a UCC in the form of the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867. Accepting contentions in favour of the petitioner, the court ruled that inheritance of property of Goans would be governed by the said code in matters of inheritance even when located outside the state.

After pronouncing its judgment on the main issue, the court also decided to make observations regarding the lack of a UCC in the country.

“It is interesting to note that whereas the founder of the Constitution in Article 44 in Part IV dealing with the Directive Principles of State Policy had hoped and expected that the state shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territories of India, till date no action has been taken in this regard,” said the bench comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose.

The court also noted how in its own landmark judgments like Shah Bano and Sarla Mudgal it has urged the creation of a UCC.