First State Who Implement UCC

The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is a proposed legal code in India to replace personal laws based on religious scriptures and customs with a common set of applicable laws to all citizens without regard to any caste, religion, or gender. The idea of a UCC has been a topic of heated debate in India for decades. While Article 44 of the Indian Constitution states that a UCC should be applied as part of the Directive Principles of State Policy, it is its implementation that remains contentious.

First Implementation of the Uniform Civil Code

The UCC could be said to have first been implemented successfully in India in Goa. When Goa was annexed by India in 1961, it continued with the 1867 Portuguese Civil Code, the provisions of which remain in force today as the Goa Civil Code. Since this code applies uniformly to all Goans irrespective of religion, it provides a precedent to further implementation of a UCC throughout India.

Goa’s Civil Code: A Model for the UCC?

The Goa Civil Code, popularly referred to as Portuguese Civil Code of 1867, governs such matters as marriage, divorce, succession, and inheritance. It includes among other salient features:

• Uniformity in Marriage Laws: Unlike in other parts of India, in Goa, the marriage laws are uniform for all persons-regardless of religion. For example, polygamy is not permitted for all religions, including Hindus and Muslims.
• Equal Property Rights: The code gives equal rights to a parental property to every son and daughter.
• Common Laws on Divorces: Unlike in other parts of India, where the divorce laws vary from religion to religion, in Goa common Christian Divorce laws exist all through the community.
• Inheritance Rights: The law prescribes that at least half of a family's estate must be inherited by legal heirs, so as to avert arbitrary wills that might deprive children or the spouse of their rightful share.

The Goa model is often evoked as a reference in implementing a UCC on a nationwide scale since it integrates different communities under one legal umbrella to ensure justice and equity in matters related to gender. 

Legal and Constitutional Aspects of the UCC

Article 44 of the Indian Constitution:

Article 44, enshrined in the Directive Principles of State Policy, provides:

"The State shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India." 

But they have skirted the issue because of the fear of political and religious wrath and possible repercussions of drastic political seriousness; earlier governments have resisted implementing this article due to the fact that they are not enforceable by courts.

Judicial Interpretations and Key Supreme Court Judgments

While emphasizing the necessity of a uniform civil code throughout the years, the Supreme Court of India has held in the following cases:

• Sarla Mudgal Case (1995): The Supreme Court ruled that Hindu males converting to Islam solely for the purpose of polygamy would be legally recognized. The ruling was the loudest voice in favour of a Uniform Civil Code. 
• Jose Paulo Coutinho Case (2019): The Supreme Court noted that Goa already has a Uniform Civil Code and questioned why other states could not implement a similar system.

Recent Developments and the Future of the UCC

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and UCC

Although the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita is slated to replace the Indian Penal Code, it does not directly tackle the UCC. It illustrates the intent of the government in modernizing the entire legal scheme in India. The push for a UCC is expected to follow as part of broader legal reforms.

Current Government Initiatives

• Law Commission’s Report: The status reports of the Law Commission state that UCC, at this point, is neither needed nor in the public interest to do it. But in 2023, the government sought fresh ideas regarding the subject, signalling a renewed interest.  
• State-Level Initiatives: Uttarakhand as the first Indian state to formally strike a UCC bill in 2023 potentially opened the doors in the states as a follow through.

The UCC has so far been applied only in Goa, where a uniform civil code has existed since colonial rule. Goa sets an example, but implementation of a UCC in the entire Indian territory remains a very complicated task to achieve, requiring a balancing act between religion, with its supposed right to exist, and gender equality and national unity issues.

Going by the spiralling discourse on legal reforms, the debate on the UCC is likely to intensify. Whether or not India will take a UCC forward will depend much on political will, judicial pronouncements, and the potential to build wide societal consensus.

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