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No Uniform Civil Code in country still, rues top court

While dealing with a case relating to succession arising out of Goa, the apex court lauded the fact that Uniform Civil Code has become a reality in the state

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Raising the banner of a Uniform Civil Code, the Supreme Court on Friday observed that despite its past exhortations and Directive Principles in our Constitution providing for the same, no action has been taken in this regard by the Centre.

While dealing with a case relating to succession arising out of Goa, the apex court lauded the fact that Uniform Civil Code has become a reality in the state. But talking in the context of the rest of the country, it added, "Though Hindu laws were codified in the year 1956, there has been no attempt to frame a Uniform Civil Code applicable to all citizens of the country despite exhortations of this Court in the case of Mohd Ahmed Khan v Shah Bano (1985) and Sarla Mudgal v Union of India (1995)."

The bench of Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose pointed out in their judgment that while the founder of the Constitution hoped and expected that the State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), by providing the same under Article 44, "till date no action has been taken in this regard."

It presented Goa as a "shining example" of how things could fall in place if UCC became a reality. "Goa is a shining example of an Indian state which has a uniform civil code applicable to all, regardless of religion except while protecting certain limited rights." The case before the Court pertained to whether the Portuguese Civil Code applicable in the state (till certain portions of it got repealed in December 2016) would apply to the law of succession in a case where the person to whom the estate belongs is a domicile of Goa but has shifted to another state subsequently.

By an Act of Parliament, the Portuguese Civil Code was made applicable to Goa and thus it became part of Indian law. Therefore, the Court held that a domicile of Goa, who starts living in Bombay, will be governed by this Code.

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