Uniform Civil Code can be harmful: Professor Faizan Mustafa, Vice-Chancellor, NALSAR

Hyderabad: Professor Faizan Mustafa, Vice-Chancellor of NALSAR said here on Thursday that uniformity has not led to harmony and the uniform civil code can be counter productive.

He was addressing a gathering at Vidyaranaya School in the city in a programme organised by Manthan forum on the Uniform Civil Code and Personal Law.

Professor Mustafa said that the idea of a federal system is to promote diversity and not uniformity.

He said the Shahbano case (of the 1980s) was not based on Muslim Personal Law, but was based on the Criminal Procedure Code.

He pointed to various judgements of the Supreme Court and High Courts in various states of the country and said there is no need for judges to go into the Holy Quran while interpreting Indian criminal laws.

Professor Faizan Mustafa said it is a misconception to think that we are having a common criminal law in the country.

The criminal law in the country has been amended around 32 times so far, he said.

Calling the All India Muslim Personal Law Board members and others, including Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, anti-national when they oppose the Uniform Civil Code, is not correct, he said.

Don’t call anyone anti-national just because they find some merit in the existing Muslim Personal Law, he added.

It is just their personal opinion about that matter and nothing more, he said.

He said that in fact the Shahbano case actually damaged the cause for a uniform civil code instead of serving it.