Uniform civil code – Need in present context

The diversity of cultures, customs, faiths, religions, languages, etc. is the identity of India. The world knows India for its pluralism. The constitution of India is the guardian of this diversity. It guarantees to every citizen equality and justice without any fear or favour and that the secularism is ensured. Secularism means that every person shall be free to profess and practise any religion of his or her own choice and the state shall not have a religion of its own nor shall it favour any particular religion. The Constitution, penal laws, procedural laws and the statutory laws are equally binding on every person irrespective of their caste, community or religion but in the matters of marriage, divorce, inheritance and maintenance every person is governed by different set of rules and customs given under personal laws of their respective religion. The inequality of treatment in respect of personal laws challenges the equality clause of The Constitution. Some of the provisions under these personal laws are rational while some are absolutely unfair, biased and against the principles of natural justice.But still such practices are prevalent in the name of freedom of profession of religion. The state is silent on the issue of inequalities in personal laws. Uniform Civil Code advocates for replacing personal laws based on customary practices and religious texts with a common state made law that equally binds every person irrespective of religion or community in the matters of marriage, divorce, maintenance and disposal of property. It ensures justice, equality of treatment and uniformity in the application of law.