Uniform Civil Code: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 07:54, 29 July 2025

Revision as of 07:57, 29 July 2025

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{{main|Shah Bano case}}

After the passing of the Hindu Code bill, the personal laws in India had two major areas of application: the common Indian citizens and the [[Muslims in India|Muslim community]], whose laws were kept away from any reforms.{{sfn|Lawrence|Karim|2007|p=265–267}} The frequent conflict between secular and religious authorities over the issue of uniform civil code eventually decreased, until the 1985 Shah Bano case. Bano was a 73-year-old woman who sought maintenance from her husband, Muhammad Ahmad Khan. He had divorced her after 40 years of marriage by triple ''[[Divorce in Islam|Talaaq]]'' (saying "I divorce thee" three times) and denied her regular maintenance; this sort of unilateral divorce was permitted under the Muslim Personal Law. She was initially granted maintenance by the verdict of a local court in 1980. Khan, a lawyer himself, challenged this decision, taking it to the [[Supreme court of India|Supreme Court]], saying that he had fulfilled all his obligations under Islamic law. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Shah Bano in 1985 under the "maintenance of wives, children and parents" provision (Section 125) of the [[Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973|All India Criminal Code]], which applied to all citizens irrespective of religion. It further recommended that a uniform civil code be set up, stating that a uniform civil code would promote national integration by eliminating conflicting loyalties to laws with divergent ideologies.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/law-commission-seeks-public-religious-bodies-views-on-uniform-civil-code-101686769326963.html | title=Law Commission seeks public, religious bodies' views on Uniform Civil Code | date=15 June 2023 }}</ref> Besides her case, two other Muslim women had previously received maintenance under the [[Code of Criminal Procedure (India)|Criminal Code]] in 1979 and 1980.{{sfn|Lawrence|Karim|2007|p=262–264}}

[[File:Rajiv Gandhi at 7 Race course road 1988 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|[[Rajiv Gandhi]]'s Congress party lost state-level elections in 1985 after it endorsed the Supreme Court's decision supporting Bano but later reversed its stand.]]

The Shah Bano case soon became nationwide political issue and a widely debated controversy.{{sfn|Lawrence|Karim|2007|p=265–267}} Many conditions, like the Supreme court's recommendation, made her case have such public and political interest. After the [[1984 anti-Sikh riots]], [[Religion in India|minorities in India]], with Muslims being the largest, felt threatened with the need to safeguard their culture.{{sfn|Lawrence|Karim|2007|p=265–267}} The [[All India Muslim Personal Law Board|All India Muslim Board]] defended the application of their laws and supported the Muslim conservatives who accused the government of promoting Hindu dominance over every Indian citizen at the expense of minorities. The Criminal Code was seen as a threat to the Muslim Personal Law, which they considered their cultural identity.{{sfn|Lawrence|Karim|2007|p=262–264}} According to them, the judiciary recommending a uniform civil code was evidence that Hindu values would be imposed over every Indian.{{sfn|Lawrence|Karim|2007|p=262–264}}