The Centre on Thursday said the Law Commission initiated fresh consultations on the issue of uniform civil code (UCC) due to the “relevance and importance” of the subject and various court orders on the matter, adding the “question of modalities does not accrue at this stage”.
“The 21st Law Commission of India had issued a consultation paper on ‘reform of family law’ on 31.08.2018, however, it had not submitted any report. Since more than four years have lapsed from the date of issuance of the said consultation paper, the 22nd Law Commission [the present panel] decided to solicit views and ideas of the public at large and religious organisations on June 14, 2023, bearing in mind the relevance and importance of the subject matter and also various court orders on the subject of uniform civil code,” Union Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
Responding to another question on the modalities of the UCC, Meghwal said that as the law panel was still in the process of holding consultations, “the question of modalities does not accrue at this stage”.
The 22nd Law Commission started a fresh consultation process on June 14 by seeking views from stakeholders — including the general public, and recognised religious organisations — on the politically sensitive issue of a UCC. Though the original deadline to submit responses was July 15, the panel has now extended it to July 28.
