Supreme Court Seeks Response On Petitions Seeking "Neutral" Laws

The Supreme Court Monday sought a "comprehensive response" within three weeks from the centre on a batch of petitions seeking a direction to the govt. to border religion and gender-neutral uniform laws for divorce, adoption, guardianship, succession, inheritance, maintenance, marriage age, and alimony.

The Supreme Court said whether such a direction within the style of a writ of mandamus will be issued to the legislature for framing laws would be a "basic question." A bench comprising judge Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice S Ravindra Bhat also asked lawyer petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay to be "fair to the court" and supply the main points of comparable petitions filed by him on these issues.

Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for an intervenor, alleged that the general public Interest Litigation(PIL) petitioner didn't inform the court about filing an analogous petition.

He alleged that a PIL seeking implementation of an identical civil code (UCC) was filed by the identical petitioner which was withdrawn later so another petition seeking similar reliefs was filed.

"Tushar Mehta, the learned law officer, has been granted three weeks time for putting a comprehensive response indicating the stand of the centre with regard to the problems raised during this batch of petitions," the bench said in its order.

Ashwini Upadhyay has filed five separate petitions seeking direction to the centre to border laws to confirm religion and gender-neutral uniform laws for divorce, adoption, guardianship, succession, inheritance, maintenance, marriage age, and alimony.

"What is your view on these matters," the bench asked the peace officer.

"This would essentially be a matter of law. But, i will be able to examine these petitions...Let me take the instruction," the lawman said.

Ashwini Upadhyay, in August 2020, filed the PIL seeking "uniform grounds of divorce" for all citizens, keeping with the spirit of the Constitution and international conventions.

He had filed another PIL seeking "gender and religion-neutral" uniform grounds of maintenance and alimony for all citizens keeping with the spirit of the Constitution and international conventions.

In another PIL, he sought the removal of anomalies on the grounds of adoption and guardianship and making them uniform for all citizens.

Further, he also filed a petition seeking to get rid of anomalies in succession and inheritance laws and make them uniform for all citizens.