Constitutional text

The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.

Source: Constitution of India, as published by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

History and context

The debate over a Uniform Civil Code was one of the most contentious in the Constituent Assembly. Members like K. M. Munshi and B. R. Ambedkar argued that personal law reform, particularly to secure gender equality, required a common civil code. Others, including Muslim League members and some Congress members, argued that personal laws were an integral part of religious identity and that minorities could not be compelled to abandon them. The compromise was to include the UCC in the non-justiciable DPSP — directing the state toward it as a goal without mandating its immediate implementation. The Supreme Court has repeatedly urged Parliament to enact a UCC, most notably in the Shah Bano case (1985), without legislative result.

Key Supreme Court cases

Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum (1985)

Supreme Court awarded maintenance to a divorced Muslim woman beyond the iddat period, prompting controversy and Parliament to pass the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986. The Court urged Parliament to enact a UCC.

Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India (1995)

Supreme Court held that a Hindu husband converting to Islam and remarrying without divorcing his first wife under Hindu law was guilty of bigamy, and again urged Parliament to implement Article 44.

Related articles

Last reviewed: 3 July 2026