UCC panel formation not under statutory powers, cannot intervene: Gujarat high court
Uniform Civil Code
(UCC) on the grounds of the absence of members from different religious communities.
Justice Niral Mehta stated, "The court, by exercising powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, cannot direct the state authorities to select members in a particular manner. Any direction and/or order, in that regard, would be said to be unjustified and unwarranted interference in purely administrative affairs of the state authorities, and thereby, this court would not like to go in the area, which is absolutely within the domain of the state govt on its administrative side.
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Petitioner Abdul Vahab Sopariwala contended that the five-member panel, headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Desai, was formed to examine the need for the UCC and draft the law. However, it does not have any member from Christian, Muslim, Parsi, Sikh, or Jain scholars. He also contended that the committee members do not possess any expertise in the field of personal laws, and some of them are interested parties because of their political appointments to certain positions.
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The state govt asserted that the decision was taken by the state govt using its powers flowing from Article 162 of the Constitution. It is an administrative decision, and there is no statutory provision to back the petitioner's demand for direction to the govt for the formation of the committee in a particular manner.
The HC stated that there cannot be any judicial review of the administrative decision of the govt taken under Article 162, and since the formation of the committee is not under any statute. It further stated, "By constituting a committee, it cannot be said that prejudice is caused to any class of people when more particularly it is always open for any class of people to make representation espousing their views on the Uniform Civil Code to the committee so constituted.
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