Dealing with a batch of 17 petitions pertaining to interfaith marriage contracted by the petitioners and seeking protection from the court, the Allahabad high court called upon the Central government to consider setting up a panel for implementing the mandate of Article 44, which says that the “State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India”.
The court also directed marriage registrar/officer of petitioners’ districts to forthwith register the marriage of the petitioners without insisting/awaiting nod of the competent district authority with regard to conversion of faith.
Justice Suneet Kumar, who passed the order while allowing the petitions filed by one Mayra alias Vaishnavi and 16 others pertaining to interfaith marriage contracted by the petitioners, further called upon the Union government to initiate the process as the stage has been reached.
“The Uniform Civil Code is a necessity and mandatorily required today. It cannot be made purely voluntary as was observed by Dr BR Ambedkar 75 years back, in view of the apprehension and fear expressed by the members of the minority community. The stage has reached that Parliament should intervene and examine as to whether the country requires multiplicity of marriage and registration laws or the parties to a marriage should be brought under the umbrella of single Family Code,” the court observed.“Marriage is just an association of two persons, recognized by law,” the court added.
The court, in an attempt to envisage the possible effect of Uniform Civil Court on the Indian population if implemented, referred to the Hindu Family Code, which in the court’s opinion, acted as uniform civil code and integrated the citizens into an integrated and united Indian citizenry.
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