The Uniform Civil Code — Article 44 — KSLU Family Law 2 Notes

The Uniform Civil Code — Article 44

A Uniform Civil Code (UCC) would replace the separate personal laws of Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and Parsis with one common law on marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, and maintenance.

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    ROOT --> ART["Article 44 = DPSP<br/>(Directive only;<br/>not enforceable)"]:::art
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    ROOT --> AGAINST["Arguments AGAINST"]:::branch
    FOR --> F1["National integration<br/>+ equality"]:::for
    FOR --> F2["Gender justice<br/>(remove discriminatory<br/>personal laws)"]:::for
    FOR --> F3["SC's repeated call:<br/>Shah Bano, Sarla Mudgal,<br/>Vallamattom"]:::for
    AGAINST --> A1["Religious freedom<br/>(Article 25)"]:::against
    AGAINST --> A2["Cultural diversity<br/>+ minority rights"]:::against
    AGAINST --> A3["Political & practical<br/>difficulty"]:::against

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Article 44 is a Directive Principle — a constitutional goal, not an enforceable right. The Supreme Court has repeatedly urged Parliament to act: Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum (1985), Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India (1995), John Vallamattom v. Union of India (2003) (Article 44 “cannot remain a dead letter”), and Jose Paulo Coutinho v. Pereira (2019) (citing Goa’s common civil code). In 2024, Uttarakhand became the first state to enact a UCC. The arguments for (national integration, gender justice, Articles 14/15/44) sit against those against (religious freedom under Article 25, cultural plurality, minority rights) — leaving the UCC constitutionally aspirational but politically contested.