Law panel chief said UCC not possible for next 10 years: AIMPLB

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board on Tuesday said the Law Commission chief has conveyed to it that the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code was not possible in India in the next 10 years.

A delegation of AIMPLB, the apex decision-making body on issues relating to Muslims, on Tuesday met Law Commission chairman Justice (retd) B S Chauhan and apprised him about its strong opposition to the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), members of the board said after the meeting.

The board also made it clear to Chauhan that it would not accept any change in the Muslim personal law as it was "divine" and based on religious text, AIMPLB member S Q R Ilyas told reporters.

Bringing a UCC has been one of the core issues for the BJP. The Law Commission has been taking views of all political parties on UCC, which seeks to replace all personal laws of various religions with a common set of rules governing every citizen.

AIMPLB vice president Syed Jalaluddin Umri, who led the delegation, said, "The good thing is that he (Chauhan) said that in India there is no possibility of a common civil code, for at least 10 years no government should deal with this issue."

"We said that not just for the next 10 years, it should not be dealt with at all," he said.

He also said that Chauhan did not comment whether the AIMPLB's stand was right, but it came to the fore during the meeting that in the current circumstances it was not possible.

In a statement, the AIMPLB said the Law Commission chairman had indicated in an earlier meeting with it in May that work on UCC was not appropriate at this point of time.

It said, however, Chauhan indicated that soon there would be a step forward for making proposal to reform civil laws in the background of religious principles taken from different religions which the Law Commission considers "good and appropriate".

"The board has categorically mentioned to the commission that it does not agree with this proposition," it said.

Ilyas said there was a suggestion from the commission's side of exploring the possibility of incorporating certain good points of the Muslim personal law into the Hindu personal laws and vice versa.

He said that a letter written by the board's General Secretary Mohammad Wali Rahmani was also handed over to Chauhan, in which it has been made clear that as far as the Muslim personal law is concerned, it is "divine", is based on religious text, and no change in it is acceptable.

Ilyas said that during the meeting, Muslim personal law issues such as adoption, women's property rights and 'model nikhanama' were also discussed.

He said that the AIMPLB made it clear during the meeting that the differences in the various schools of thoughts in Islam have been incorporated and the issue of reform was being pursued by the board's social reform panel.

"It has been made clear to the commission that the determination of religious principles, traditions and cultures do not fall within scope of functioning of the government and accordingly the said issues should not be made part of the law-making process. Therefore, the government should neither interfere nor be advised to interference in such areas," the AIMPLB statement said.

On the triple talaq bill in Parliament, AIMPLB Secretary Fazlur Rahman Mujaddidi said it was not only against women, but also against married couples.

He hit out at the government for proposing to make triple talaq a cognizable offence, alleging that it was a "conspiracy to fill jails with Muslims".

Kamal Farooqui, member AIMPLB, said a person is punished for committing a crime, but when the crime has not happened, how can a person be punished.

The Supreme Court has struck down triple talaq. An action which is not valid, how can you prosecute a person for it, he said.