Kerala Assembly Unanimously Passes Resolution Against Uniform Civil Code

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India] : Kerala Legislative Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution against the Central government’s “unilateral and hasty” plan to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country. 

“Kerala Legislative Assembly expresses concern and dismay at the Central government’s move to impose a Uniform Civil Code. It is the opinion of this House that the unilateral and hasty action by the Central Government would topple the Constitution’s secular character,” the resolution moved by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan read.

The Assembly has unanimously urged the Central Government to refrain from taking blatant moves “until a consensus on issues affecting our people is arrived at through discussions with various religious groups” 

The Congress-led opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) proposed several amendments and adjustments, expressing their support for the initiative by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.

Previously, the Kerala Assembly was also the first legislature in India to pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act. In December 2019, the Kerala Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Meanwhile, the resolution passed in the Assembly today states that the UCC refers only to the Directive Principles of the Constitution and its implementation is not mandatory. 

“The Constitution refers to Uniform Civil Code only in its Directive Principles. It is pertinent to note that the Uniform Civil Code was limited to Directive Principles. Implementation of Directive Principles is not mandatory. The court may order to enforce Fundamental rights. But the Directive Principles of Article 44 of the Constitution cannot be enforced even by the courts. It is essential to understand how much thought the founders of the Constitution had put in while arriving at such a decision,” it read. 

It further mentioned that Dr BR Ambedkar had advocated for UCC but never pressed for one. 

“Ambedkar, who advocated Parliament passing the Uniform Civil Code by respecting citizens’ rights to choose their laws, never pressed for one. So, it’s very clear that he was pointing towards a possibility. Common Civil Law was restricted to the scope of the Directive Principle of State Policy due to this opposition,” the resolution read.  

The Law Commission had earlier sought responses from interested individuals, institutions, or organisations to furnish their comments on the issue of the Uniform Civil Code until July 28.

Making a strong case for the implementation of uniform civil laws across the country at the Bhopal meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country cannot be run with “two laws” when the Constitution espouses equality for all.

Article 44 of the Constitution says that the State shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) throughout the territory of India.

UCC is a common set of laws dealing with marriage, inheritance, adoption, and other matters that are not based on religion.