DR. AMBEDKAR AND THE HINDU CODE BILL 1003
*Shri B. K. P. Sinha : A cruel destiny always pits me against Dr. Mookerjee, one of the greatest orators in the House and in the country. Dr. Mookerjee and other opponents of this Bill have brought forward the suggestion. “Why not have a Civil Code ? Why not extend the scope of this Bill to cover all the castes and communities and religious groups in India ? ” And also they ask., “Why not leave it to the different states or different people to adopt the various provisions of this Bill ? ” The mover of the Bill has effectively replied to these criticisms. The opponents of the Bill have also referred to the clause in the Constitution regarding discrimination between different persons. It was their contention that in view of that clause, or in view of that arricle of the Constitution. If you have provisions in the Bill applicable only to one community, that will not be constitutionally valid. In that connection they also referred to certain decisions of some Bombay courts and Madras courts. But they were decisions of the lower courts and since then the Bombay High Court has pronounced that in the cases referred to there was no violation of the discrimination article in the Constitution and that in spite of that article we can have laws for the Hindu community, to the exclusion of other communities. Therefore, that point is settled.
Then there is the question of leaving it to the different States or people to decide by referendum. What are the grounds on which they have advanced this argument ? They say that the provisions of the Bill conflict with the fundamental tenets of Hindu law, that they are revolutionary and that they bring about far-reaching changes in the law, and that these changes are not at all essential. These are the arguments advanced by them in support of their contention. Let me scan the provisions of the Bill and see what is the substance of their contention. I will for the present confine myself to the question of marriage and divorce, for that is the only chapter that is going to be discussed.
Pandit M. B. Bhargava (Ajmer) : Kindly confine yourself to clause 2.
Shri B. K. P. Sinha : Yes. I confine myself to clause 2 and I will illustrate my statements only from marriage and divorce chapter. I will not go beyond that. What are the features of this chapter ? It has four features. One that it widens the scope within which one can have marriages. You can go beyond the particular sub-caste or group and
*P.D., Vol. XV, Part II, 17th September 1951, pp 2723-32.