HC reserves verdict on plea challenging formation of UCC panel
Ahmedabad: Justice Niral Mehta of the Gujarat high court on Thursday reserved his verdict on a petition challenging the formation of the
Uniform Civil Code
(UCC) committee after hearing arguments from both sides.
The petition sought directions to the state govt to include members from different religious communities and to ensure the process was consultative in nature.
The petitioner, Abdul Vahab Sopariwala, through his counsel Zamir Shaikh, argued that the five-member panel formed to examine the need for a UCC lacks representation from Christian, Muslim, Parsi, Sikh, or Jain communities. He further contended that the committee members lacked expertise in personal laws, and alleged that some were politically appointed and therefore interested parties.
The state govt defended the formation of the committee, stating it was an administrative decision made under powers granted by Article 162 of the Constitution. It further argued that there is no statutory provision mandating the composition of such a committee in any particular manner, and therefore, the petitioner's demands were unfounded.
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Responding to allegations that the committee's process was not consultative, the state maintained that the panel was tasked with considering representations from all sections of society.
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The petitioner specifically raised concerns over the qualifications of the members, stating that retired IAS officer C L Meena is not a jurist and had no experience with the Law Commission. Another member, advocate R C Kodekar, was said to primarily practice criminal law rather than civil law.
The third member, Dakshesh Thakkar, was a former university vice-chancellor who, the petitioner claimed, was closely aligned with the ruling party. Similar concerns were raised about the fifth member, Gita Shroff, who was also alleged to have close ties to the party in power.
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