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Amid a nationwide debate on a Uniform Civil Code, the Supreme Court has asked the Centre if a person born in a Muslim family can follow secular laws in matters of property or is bound to abide by the Sharia, the Muslim personal law. A bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna has given the Centre four weeks to file a reply and posted the next hearing for May 5.
The petitioner in the matter is Safiya PM from Kerala. She has said she wants to leave her entire property to her daughter. Her son is autistic and her daughter takes care of him, the petition says.
Under the Sharia, a son gets twice the share of a daughter if the parents' property is divided. The petitioner has said that in her case, if her son dies due to Down Syndrome, her daughter will get only one-third of the property and the remaining would go to a relative.
Safiya has said in her petition that she and her husband are not practising Muslims, so she should be allowed to distribute her as per the guidelines in the Indian Succession Act. Currently, the Indian Succession Act does not apply to Muslims. Safiya's petition challenges this.
When the matter came up in court, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said it is a "very interesting case".
The case plays out against the backdrop of the BJP's push for a uniform civil code with common civil laws for all citizens, irrespective of religion. While criminal laws are common, laws governing inheritance, adoption and succession differ across certain communities. Those opposing a Uniform Civil Code argue that such a step would curb religious freedom and threaten India's diversity.
Uttarakhand yesterday became the first state to implement a Uniform Civil Code. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said this marked a historic moment for the state and stressed that the law is designed to ensure equal rights for citizens, irrespective of caste, religion, or gender. "UCC is a constitutional measure to end legal discrimination. Through this, an attempt has been made to provide equal rights to all citizens," he said.
In his address to the nation on Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted that the Supreme Court has given various directions regarding a common civil code.