Bhuvana Marni
Published on: October 3, 2022 at 17:44 IST
On Friday, the Supreme Court turned down a petition seeking a Uniform Civil Code for India.
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) U.U. Lalit and JB Pardiwala’s bench made the observation that certain petitions were already pending. A petition for a uniform civil code for India was dismissed by the bench.
The Bench noted orally that the Law Commission of India’s report, which claimed that a Uniform Civil Code was undesirable, was based on a decision that had twice been called into question by the Supreme Court of India and hence had a “shaky” foundation.
Earlier, the Centre had asked the Law Commission to submit a report on the viability of a Uniform Civil Code in India.
The State of Bombay vs. Narasu Appa Mali decision, which held that personal law is not a law in the context of Article 13 and cannot be challenged on the grounds that it violates a fundamental right, forms the basis for the Commission’s conclusions, even though it has submitted its report and emphasised the importance of recognizing the differences that exist in Indian society.
According to the petitioner, the Supreme Court had twice voiced its skepticism of the decision and argued that the said judgement ought to be reconsidered.
CJI Lalit also remarked that the case of Narasu Appa Mali was “old law”. However, he stated —
“You are asking for something which is in the nature of a writ of mandamus saying that a particular law is in acted in a particular fashion.”
“To what extent can we utilize our writ jurisdiction and keep passing such kinds of directions or writs? This petition is a very well-researched document but sorry we cannot grant you that relief.”
The petition requested mandamus for a statute to be passed in a specific way, but the Court declined to use its writ authority over it.
The Apex Court said that despite the petition being flawlessly researched and written, it cannot grant the petitioner’s request.
The CJI acknowledged that it was likely that the Narasu Appa Mali judgement would be addressed when the subject was taken up by the court, but the court cannot delve into it in this plea.
The CJI instructed the petitioner to withdraw the request or the court would dismiss it, and as a result, the case was dismissed after it was withdrawn.
Title: Anoop Baranwal & Anr vs. Union of India & Anr.