Ahmedabad, Apr 22 (PTI) A petition has been filed in the Gujarat High Court challenging the composition of a five-member committee aimed at assessing the need for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state, stating that it needs to have members of minority communities in it.
On February 4 this year, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel announced the formation of the committee to assess the necessity of the UCC and also to draft a bill for it.
Challenging the composition of the UCC committee, Surat resident Abdul Vahab Sopariwala said in his petition that it does not have members from religious minorities, adding that inclusion of such stakeholders was crucial to ensure that diversity of opinions and practices is considered in the formulation of the UCC.
The matter came up for hearing in the court of Justice Aniruddha P Mayee on Monday, and will be taken up on May 5 with Advocate General Kamal Trivedi appearing on behalf of the government, Sopariwala's lawyer Zamir Shaikh said.
The committee set up to examine the need for the UCC in Gujarat does not have a single scholar from minority communities, the plea said.
Without appropriate representation from every community and relevant stakeholders, this committee violates the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14 (right to equality), 15 (prohibition of discrimination), and 25 (right to freedom of religion) of the Constitution of India.
"The committee is formed for the uniformity of different religious/personal laws. When considering the committee members appointed by the state government, there is no representation of diverse communities, including minority groups, that is Christians, Parsis, Sikhs, Muslims, Jains, Buddhists, etc," it said.
The petitioner made a representation to the chief minister on March 16, after which he approached the Gujarat High Court.
The plea made a prayer to the high court to direct the respondent government to reform the committee with fresh members, which are the known person of subjective law and effective parties of the said code, and direct it to engage in consultative process involving all religious and cultural communities before any move to impose a UCC is made.
The constitutional, legal, and cultural framework demands that the personal laws of various communities, which are integral to their identities, be respected and preserved, it added.
It also said that no notification was issued for the formation of the committee to examine the need of the UCC in Gujarat.
The committee is chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai. Its members include Retired senior IAS officer C L Meena, advocate R C Kodekar, former Vice Chancellor Dakshesh Thakar and social activist Geetaben Shroff.