'Review of personal laws' among subjects chosen for examination by parliamentary panel

New Delhi: As the Law Commission holds consultations on a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), the Standing Committee on Law and Justice has chosen the 'review of personal laws' among the subjects for its examination.

In June, the Law Commission had initiated a fresh deliberation on the UCC by seeking views from stakeholders, including the public and recognised religious organisations.

In short, the UCC would translate into having a common law for all citizens of the country that is not based on religion. Personal laws and laws related to inheritance, adoption and succession are likely to be covered by a common code.

The parliamentary panel, headed by BJP's Sushil Kumar Modi, has also decided to examine remote voting and e-postal ballots for Indians residing abroad.

In November 2020, the Election Commission had proposed to the government to extend the Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) facility, so far available to service voters, to eligible overseas Indian voters.

As of now, the issue is pending between the EC and the Ministry of External Affairs.

Currently, overseas Indians are free to cast their votes in constituencies they are registered in.

Review of the Right to Information Act, 2005, and working of the Central Information Commission have also been chosen among the subjects for review.

The effectiveness of vigilance administration, functioning of the Central Administrative Tribunal and that of the Central Vigilance Commission are some of the other subjects selected by the panel, a Lok Sabha bulletin said on Friday.

Court proceedings and judgements in regional languages, pendency of cases under the Contempt of Court Act and 24x7 virtual courts will also be examined by the committee.