Need for Uniform Civil Code

There is an interesting news report in 'The Hindu" of 23.10.2008 which is reproduced below verbatim.

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Court for body to regulate Muslim marriages
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Says no system to check ‘indiscreet divorce’

Appeals all concerned to study the problem
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KOCHI: A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday observed that legislation for setting up bodies at Central and regional levels to regulate, control and supervise Muslim marriages and divorces was the need of the hour.

The Bench of Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Harun-Ul-Rashid, while passing a verdict in a matrimonial case involving a Muslim couple, said an effective system should be introduced for protecting the Muslim society and women from “indiscreet marriage and divorce.”

The court observed that though polygamy was allowed in the strict sense by Islam, there was no system in India to supervise or control such indiscreet marriage and divorce. Going by Koranic verses, permission to marry more than one woman, but not more than four, was given at a time when there were lots of orphans, widows and captives of war who were unable to maintain a dignified life. Polygamy was allowed then due to unavoidable circumstances. In fact, the practice was discouraged by imposing stringent conditions.

The court observed that even after 15th century, some people of the community seemed to be very particular in following the practice, unmindful of whether such circumstances existed or not. They entered into more than one marriage, mostly for their personal pleasure. The court said polygamy was unlawful in the country. It called for strong moral strength, if not religious factor, to eradicate polygamy from among the Muslims.

The court said there was no system in the country to ascertain and decide whether a person was eligible to contract more than one marriage during the subsistence of the first marriage. Men in the community enjoyed unrestricted freedom to marry women of their choice and pronounce talaq according to their whims and fancies. In fact, most of such marriages were illegal since they were against Koranic injunctions.

The court pointed out that in Pakistan, Muslim family law regulated polygamy and provided for an arbitration council. As per the laws in Muslim countries such as Iraq, the husband must satisfy the court the reasons for divorce. These provisions were intended to regulate marriage and supervise its sanctity.

The Bench appealed to all concerned within the community and the administrative authority and the government to study the problems faced by “helpless and destitute women and children” and bestow thoughts on the ways and means to alleviate their problems.

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Our Law Makers should be bold enough to rise above partisan ends to review and regulte all such archaic practices in all religions, sects, and denominations. Unless we move with times, things will come to such a pass that vulnerable sections like women,children, old citizens, etc will be exploited badly. The concept of Hindu Undivided Family in taxation laws is one such example. Animal sacrifices in the name of worship is another. If we can try to eradicate the scourge of Varna Ashrama Dharma in Hindu religion though it had religious sanction and was one of the pillars of Hindu way of life, we should tackle so many of other ill suited and retrograde practices in all denominations of our society,

Better such reforms originate from within that particular religion/sect for wider acceptance and smoother transition. But law makers should act.


...ponder