A Uniform Civil Code, if enacted, would represent both a social justice imperative and a constitutional fulfilment of Article 44. Discuss, with reference to recent debates on Muslim women's inheritance rights.

Q. A Uniform Civil Code, if enacted, would represent both a social justice imperative and a constitutional fulfilment of Article 44. Discuss, with reference to recent debates on Muslim women's inheritance rights. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

Article 44 directs the State to endeavour to secure a uniform civil code, yet it remains the least realised Directive Principle. The Supreme Court's 2026 notice on a plea against unequal Muslim inheritance shares shows why this is simultaneously a question of gender justice and of constitutional obligation. [2]

The social justice imperative - Section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 applies Shariat to intestate succession [1]; the petition before the Court argues that a daughter receives half a son's share and a widow with children only one-eighth, offending Articles 14 and 15. [2] - Property is the basis of women's economic security; unequal succession transmits asset inequality across generations and deepens the feminisation of poverty. - Precedent shows reform is workable: the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, following the triple talaq verdict, ended a discriminatory practice through statute rather than doctrine. [6]

Fulfilment of Article 44 - A UCC would convert a non-justiciable directive into enforceable equality, and supply the secular succession framework whose absence the Court flagged — striking down the 1937 Act alone would leave a legal vacuum, as the Indian Succession Act, 1925 does not govern Muslims. [3] - Uttarakhand's UCC (2024), India's first, already extends uniform rules on marriage, divorce and succession, offering a template for evaluation. [5]

Concerns that temper the case - Personal law is protected under Articles 25–29; minorities read uniformity as majoritarian imposition, and the 22nd Law Commission's 2023 consultation drew an exceptionally wide public response, reflecting deep division. [4] - The Shah Bano aftermath shows that reform without community ownership invites legislative reversal.

Equality and diversity are therefore complements, not rivals. The prudent path is phased, consultative codification, beginning with a secular succession option available to all citizens, backed by community outreach and Law Commission-guided drafting. Such a code would honour Article 44 while realising the constitutional promise of equal citizenship for every Indian woman.

(~315 words)

Sources: 1. Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 — India Code — Section 2 applying Shariat to intestate succession 2. SC to look into plea against law on Muslim inheritance — The Hindu, 11 March 2026 — petition, unequal shares, notice to Ministry of Minority Affairs 3. SC says time has come for Uniform Civil Code, urges legislative action — News on Air (Prasar Bharati), 10 March 2026 — Court's legal-vacuum concern and deference to Parliament 4. Law Commission of India solicits views on Uniform Civil Code — PIB, 14 June 2023 — 22nd Law Commission public consultation on Article 44 5. Uttarakhand becomes first state to implement Uniform Civil Code — DD News — first state-level UCC covering succession 6. Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 — India Code — statutory precedent for personal law reform