The Law Commission of India has said that a uniform civil code is "neither necessary nor desirable" at this stage. The Commission, in its consultation paper on 'Reform of Family Law' instead has suggested changes in laws relating to marriage, divorce, alimony, and marriageable age for men and women.
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The panel headed by Justice (retd) BS Chauhan held that freedom of religion as also to propagate it must be strongly protected in a secular democracy, but it is important to bear in mind that a number of "social evils" such as the practice of triple talaq and child marriage should not be allowed to take refuge under 'religious customs'.
"To seek their protection under the?law as religion would be a grave folly," it said in the paper.
It said all personal and secular laws -- the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Special Marriage Act, 1954, the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 (for Christians), the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 can be amended to reflect equal rights for women.
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The panel also suggested that 18 years should be the minimum legal age for men and women alike to get married, saying the insistence on recognising different ages of marriage between consenting adults must be abolished. Currently, the minimum age for men is 21 years and 18 years for women to get married.
The panel also said, "If a universal age for the majority is recognised, and that grants all citizens the right to choose their governments, surely, they must then be also considered capable of choosing their spouses".
The Paper also suggests a series of amendments to personal laws and further codification of certain other laws, particularly with respect to succession and inheritance.?
Other than these, the paper also suggests amending guidelines for adoption and also a suggestion to alter the language of the act to accommodate all gender identities.
The paper also discusses lacunae within custody and guardianship laws, statutory or customary, and suggests the 'best interest of the child' has to remain paramount in deciding matters of custody regardless of any personal law in place.