Oppressive Personal Law That Doesn’t Give You Right to Divorce Must be Abolished: Harish Salve on UCC | Exclusive

Amid the political debate, former solicitor general and senior advocate Harish Salve supported the plan to bring in the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), saying it will give “people a choice".

In the simplest terms, the UCC means one law which would be applicable to all religious communities in matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, maintenance, etc.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week said India needed the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) as the country could not run with the dual system of “separate laws for separate communities", Uttarakhand government said its draft with provisions for the age of girls for marriage and conditions for live-in relationships, among others, was ready and would be implemented soon. The Opposition parties, meanwhile, have accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of resorting to “divisive politics" through the UCC.

Salve, however, has a different view. “I have been a votary for introduction of UCC," he said, adding, “Does it affect anyone’s religion? No, it gives you a choice if you want to follow a secular law or not…You’ll have the choice of which law applies to you."

When asked about the reservations expressed by the Muslim community, he said, “Why will it be bad for Muslims? It will give a Muslim girl the choice to get a divorce, which is a concept alien to their personal law."

Salve went on to say that the UCC “will take away the control that religion has on people".

“It will create a situation where the girl will say that she’s being misled and she’ll get the option to divorce the man. Removing all kinds of state discriminations which empowers one group to impose their own views on others would ultimately strengthen the democracy," he said, explaining how UCC could curb ‘love jihad’.

When asked about the Opposition’s doubts over its timing, he said, “Whether the timing is right or wrong is a political question and I would not want to comment on it."

Salve is clear: “A personal law that is oppressive, which doesn’t give you a right to divorce, must be abolished."