Ex-justice resigns from Maharashtra UCC panel, flagging concerns over functioning
What's the story
Former Bombay High Court Justice RC Chavan has resigned from the drafting committee of Maharashtra's Uniform Civil Code (UCC). In his resignation email, he raised concerns over the panel's functioning and the hasty finalization of a public feedback questionnaire and the active participation of an unappointed non-member. The seven-member committee is headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Desai.
Procedural issues
Important discussions being cut short, says Chavan
Chavan's resignation letter highlighted his disappointment with the committee's limited scope for public input.
He said during a recent meeting, three members attempted to articulate their views, including a suggestion to have the questionnaire professionally evaluated by academic experts.
However, those suggestions were rendered meaningless because the chairperson had already finalized the document.
"The Honorable chairperson had already circulated a questionnaire finalized by her and stated that it would be uploaded once the website was ready," he wrote.
Scope
'My attempt to put forth my views..'
He expressed deep disappointment with the committee's narrow scope for gathering public input, adding that the aim now remained simply to gather 'yes or no' responses so that analysis of data becomes easy
"My attempt to put forth my views...was due to my misunderstanding that our exercise was aimed at gathering views of people of Maharashtra and to generate a consensus to remedy the issues of late marriages, perversions, infertility, unstable marriages, time-consuming dispute resolution mechanism etc.," he said.
Outsider influence
Chavan questions outsider's role in website changes
Chavan also questioned the role of an outsider, former IAS officer Shatrughna Singh, in the committee's website changes.
He wondered if this dependence on an outsider was due to a lack of confidence among state officers.
"Maharashtra officers may feel they are not competent to do this duty that an officer from another state had to be called," he wrote in his resignation letter.
Resignation accepted
Resignation accepted by Maharashtra government
He said he was resigning so that his seat could be filled quickly so that the government could fill in the blank promptly.
"A resolution notified quickly will help me tell those who meet me with the expectation that I will place their views before the committee that they must do it themselves. This will also relieve me from the injunction to avoid interactions," the judge said.
Chavan's resignation has been accepted by the Maharashtra government.