Parl panel discusses keeping tribals, NE out of UCC's ambit

The Law Commission of India on Monday sought to make a case before a Parliamentary panel that the issue of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country be examined afresh, even as some Opposition parties, including the Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), questioned the move to renew consultations despite the commission's view in 2018 that UCC is "neither necessary nor desirable at this stage".

- Utkarsh Anand and Deeksha Bhardwaj

The head of the parliamentary panel on personnel, public grievances and law and justice -- Bharatiya Janata Party member Sushil Kumar Modi -- made a pitch for keeping tribal communities and the northeastern states out of the ambit of any proposed UCC and noted that the Constitution allowed some exceptions for certain groups to help them follow their customs. It was also pointed out in the meeting that central laws are not applicable in some northeastern states without their concurrence. A number of tribal groups in central India and in the Northeast have protested against any push for UCC, expressing concern that their unique customs and traditional laws would be wiped out.

According to people familiar with the matter, the BJP, Shiv Sena, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Bahujan Samaj Party leaders supported UCC.

The meeting of the parliamentary standing committee, the first after the law panel initiated the consultation process on UCC, was held to hear the views of representatives of the commission and the legal affairs and legislative departments of the law ministry. Seventeen of the 31 MPs in the panel attended this meeting that saw Congress and DMK leaders questioning a June 14 notice by the Law Commission that solicited views and suggestions on UCC from the public at large and recognised religious organisations.