Ambika Bhardwaj
Published On: January 09, 2022 at 19:25 IST
The Centre has submitted an objection in the Delhi High Court against a petition for the creation of a Uniform Civil Code, claiming that the Law Commission is looking into the matter and that the government will look into it once the review is done by the committee.
It stated, however, that “citizens of various religious denominations obey distinct properties and matrimonial regulations, which is an affront to the country’s togetherness.”
The Ministry of Law and Justice stated in response to a PIL lodged by BJP leader and Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay that Parliament has sovereign power to create laws and that no external power or jurisdiction can issue a guideline to enact a specific legislation.
“A Writ of Mandamus cannot be issued to the legislature to compel it to implement specific legislations. This is a matter of public policy for the elected leaders to decide, and no guideline can be released by the Court in this respect. It is up to the legislature to decide whether or not to pass a legislation.”, the response stated.
In his petition, Upadhyay requested the High Court to order the Central government to establish a judicial committee or a high-level expert committee to draft a Uniform Civil Code within three months. He stated that under the Directive Principles of State Policy, Article 44 of the Constitution required the government to draft a Uniform Civil Code.
Also read: Is India on its way to One Nation, One Law?