Uniform Civil Code and the Constitution: Historical background and Article 44

Recently, the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami, presented in the state Assembly the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill. The draft of the same was submitted on February 2.

The Uniform Civil Code is going to govern matters of personal law like inheritence, adoption, marriage, and divorce. The objective is to govern all these matters uniformly across all communities.

In the 2022 Assembly elections in the state, the enactment of the Uniform Civil Code is one of the chief poll promises of the BJP in the state. The presentation of similar bills is expected soon in the Assam and Gujarat assemblies too.

Let us understand what in the Indian Constitution pushed the state to present the Uniform Civil Code and how the code has been seen by many communities in the country since its inception.

Article 44 of the Indian Constitution

Part IV of the Indian Constitution lists the Directive Principle of State Policy. These directive principle are the directives that a state of the country should strive to abide by. However, these directive principles are not enforceable on the State.

Article 36 to 51 of the Indian Constitution fall under the ambit of the Directive Principles of State Policy. 

Now, Article 44 is one of the Directive Principle of State Policy. This Directive Principle. It talks about the Uniform Civil Code. The Uniform Civil Code says that the "State shall endeavor to secure the citizen a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India." It was on November 23, 1948, one year after the independence of the country, that this Article got adopted by the Constituent Assembly. Adopting the Article was not an easy task, and the process involved much debate. One section of the country was in complete favor of a Uniform Civil Code, while others were against the Code. Many notable leaders of the country like Dr B.R Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru advocated the adoption of a Uniform Civil Code, however, many groups of the country were against it. Considering this opposition, the Uniform Civil Code was added to the Constitution as a directive principle of state policy through Article 44, and was thus not made enforceable on the State.

Those who were against the Uniform Civil Code

It was the All India Muslim League that opposed the adoption of a Uniform Civil Code. It was Mohammad Ismail Khan who suggested the addition of a proviso which sought to add the condition stating that any section, community, or group of the people shall not be made obliged to surrender its own personal laws in case a Uniform Civil Code is adopted. Mohammed Ismail Khan was an Assembly member belonging to the All India Muslim League.

The Assembly Member was of the view that a secular state should not be interfering with the religious practices of people, as, if it does so, it can create discontent among the people.

Those who supported the adoption of UCC

While many religious groups were hesitant to affirm to a Uniform Civil Code, Congress members were ready to welcome a Uniform Civil Code with open arms. While many claimed that Uniform Civil Code was tyrannical, KM Munshi, a member of the Constituent Assembly Drafting Committee and a Congress member, was of the view that certain important members should not be governed by religion, but rather by legislation.