Overview
- A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and R. Mahadevan, said a Uniform Civil Code is the appropriate remedy for cross‑community inequities in personal laws.
- The petition, filed by Poulomi Pavini Shukla and Nyaya Naari Foundation and argued by Prashant Bhushan, challenges the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 for allegedly denying Muslim women equal inheritance rights.
- The court cautioned that striking down the 1937 Act could create a legal void and potentially reduce existing protections, noting that uncodified personal law might continue under Article 372.
- Petitioners were asked to amend their plea to propose practical alternatives, with Bhushan suggesting the Indian Succession Act and asserting that inheritance is a civil right not protected as an essential religious practice under Article 25.
- The matter was adjourned after the bench emphasized prior judicial calls for a UCC, referenced complexities such as polygamy and unequal divorce grounds, and noted state-level examples in Goa and Uttarakhand.