In the Absence of a Uniform Civil Code, is the Special Marriage Act the Best Alternative for Women?

Abstract

A Uniform Civil Code is promised by the framers of the Constitution to the Citizens of India. The State shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India. To the authors of the Indian constitution, a Uniform Civil Code meant a commonly enforceable set of laws governing marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance and other personal and familial matters. However, even after nearly 60 years of independence, the Indian Legislature could not fulfill this promise for several political and social reasons. The Uniform Civil Code controversy arises from the three-way tension between; the traditional political impulse to leave communities alone to manage their social life; the modernist political values of 'rule of law' which requires that one law apply to everyone and that everyone should benefit equally from the laws of the state; and the political imperative of pleasing every constituency possible.