Union law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday said that the Government is serious about pursuing the Uniform Civil Code and the decision to refer the subject to the law Commission should not be linked to the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh.
Speaking to mediapersons after taking charge, Prasad, in his third stint as law Minister, said that he will strive to find a “common ground” with the Supreme Court to break the deadlock with judiciary on the amended Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) which governs appointments to higher judiciary. last week, Prasad’s predecessor DV Sadananda Gowda along with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had even met the Chief Justice of India to assure that the “national interest” clause in the amended MoP will not be used by executive to overrule appointments recommended by the CJI-headed collegiums.
Fielding questions mostly linked to the Uniform Civil Code, Prasad refuted the claim made by the Congress party that the Government was not serious about the issue and the announcement had to do with elections in UP next year. “Do not link it with polls. There will be polls in Uttarakhand also...The fact is that Article 44 of the Constitution talks of a common code. The Supreme Court on various occasions has made observations on uniform code...It is in our (BJP’s) election manifesto,” he said.
Since the subject required a lot of debate and extensive consultation, the matter was referred to the law Commission, he added. “There is need for a wider consultation. The law Commission has been asked to hold consultations. Whatever report it gives is its discretion,” said Prasad.
Early last month, the Department of legal Affairs had sent the ball rolling on the contentious Uniform Civil Code by seeking a report on feasibility of its implementation. Already, the Supreme Court is looking into the validity of Muslim personal law practices of triple talaq and polygamy and separately examining whether a certificate issued by an Ecclesiastical Court of the Church can “annul” a Christian marriage without obtaining a divorce decree from a court of law.
On the other issue of judicial appointments, Prasad said, “We will be consulting and meeting (with CJI) in an effort to strike a common ground on the issue of judicial appointments. All efforts will be made to get the MoP finalised soon, he added. The Minister also spoke of making justice delivery system speedy by filling up judicial vacancies and selecting the right judges, besides improving court infrastructure, Prasad added.