Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay filed a batch of petitions in the Supreme Court seeking gender and religion-neutral laws governing divorce, adoption, guardianship, succession/inheritance, and maintenance across India. However, the bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice JB Pardiwala refused to hear the petitions, stating that these matters fall within the legislative domain. The court also ruled that it could not direct Parliament to create new laws through a mandamus.
The group of petitions was categorized into four groups for ease of reference. During the hearing, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta expressed that he believed a Uniform Civil Code would be ideal in principle, but noted that it was a matter for the legislature to address. He stated that although the government was concerned, the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code could not be achieved through a writ like the one presented in the case.
While dictating the order, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud noted that the Solicitor General had stated that the Government of India supported uniform legislation as a matter of policy. However, the Solicitor General had also argued that any intervention regarding this batch of matters could only occur through the legislative process. After carefully examining the petitions and submissions, the court declined to hear the case under Article 32. The relief requested would require a mandate for new legislation, which is solely within the legislature’s jurisdiction. It is well established that a mandamus cannot be issued to the legislature to create new laws.
The court rejected the request for a direction to the Law Commission to report on the issue, as such reports should ultimately assist in the enactment of legislation that falls within the legislative domain. Therefore, the court found no reason to consider the request. The petitions were disposed of, and the court also separated the petitions that challenged the practice of “Talaq-e-Hasan” for individual consideration.
Source: https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/supreme-court-dismisses-pils-seeking-uniform-religion-gender-neutral-laws-on-divorce-adoption-maintenance-225112