Gujarat UCC panel asks legal department to take action on ‘consent form’ being circulated in schools
The committee appointed to prepare Gujarat’s draft Uniform Civil Code directed the state’s legal department on Monday to act on a complaint filed by a civil society group about “consent forms” allegedly being circulated in government schools, The Indian Express reported.
The complaint by the Minority Coordination Committee, which advocates for the rights of religious minorities, claimed the forms were being distributed to “coerce students of the minority community” to support the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code.
The code is a common set of laws governing marriage, divorce, succession and adoption for all citizens. Currently, such personal affairs of different religious and tribal groups are based on community-specific laws, largely derived from religious scripture.
The introduction of a common personal law has long been on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s agenda and several states ruled by the Hindutva party have been taking steps towards implementing it.
In February, the Gujarat government appointed a five-member committee to prepare a draft Uniform Civil Code for the state.
On Saturday, members of the Minority Coordination Committee informed retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai about the “unattributed” documents that were found in several government primary schools in Vadodara city, including in Akota and Tandalja, The Indian Express reported.
This came three days after several schools in the Naswadi taluka of Chhota Udepur district allegedly “coerced students to...
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