Parliamentary panel chief bats for keeping tribals out of UCC

New Delhi: The draft bill for a uniform civil code may keep tribals out of its purview, if parliamentary panel on law chairman Sushil Modi's query at Monday's meeting is any indication to go by.

At the House committee meeting, Modi is believed to have asked law panel and ministry officials if it was legally tenable to keep tribals out of the purview of any such law, to which government officials reportedly responded in the affirmative. The officials made a detailed presentation on personal laws of different religions at the meeting.

Several members from opposition parties questioned the law panel's move to begin consultation on the contentious issue during an election year. Congress MP Vivek Tankha and P Wilson of DMK suggested there was political intent, according to people in the know. They are believed to have submitted separate written statements questioning the law commission's move to bring a consultation paper on UCC.


Opposition members also cited that a consultation paper of the previous law commission, the term of which ended on August 31, 2018, had described UCC as "neither necessary nor desirable" at this stage.

Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut was supportive of UCC but wondered the 'rush' for it. Raut also said many countries, including the US, had a common civil law while saying concerns of different communities and regions should be looked into.

Chairman Modi suggested that tribals of northeast and other regions could be kept out of the purview of any likely uniform civil code. Officials responded that in Nagaland and Mizoram, central laws, in any case, were applicable only when the state assembly endorsed them.

In the meeting, members suggested that rather than UCC, a law could be brought in for practices related to marriage, divorce, custody, guardianship, adoption, maintenance, succession and inheritance and leave out other contentious issues.

Law Commission officials said that 19 lakh suggestions were received after notice for consultation on UCC was published on June 13. The exercise is for one month. Seventeen out of 31 panel members attended the meeting. Officials who attended were law commission member secretary K Biswal, additional secretary in the legislative department, KR Sajikumar, and joint secretary department of legal affairs, Sunita Anand.