New Delhi: Press Council of India chief Markandey Katju on Tuesday described the Muslim personal law as barbaric and backward supporting the imposition of the uniform civil code. He contended that every modern country has a uniform civil code but no one speaks out in India due to the “Muslim vote bank”, citing the reversal of apex court judgment in Shah Bano case.Â
Speaking on the lack of equal access to justice for women at the Indian Women’s Press Corps Katju said, “The Muslim personal law is barbaric, backward and unjust…it is a feudal law. All countries in the world have one law…why shouldn’t we? I support the uniform civil code.”Â
The uniform civil code has been a core issue for BJP. In fact law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in a recent Parliament response said that the government would consult all stakeholders before taking any steps in the direction.Â
Katju also bemoaned the “alarming trend” of corruption in judiciary. Katju had recently stirred a controversy by raising the issue of corruption amongst judges. When asked about the increasing cases of corruption the former SC judge said, “Harsh punishment should be given to corrupt judges…the corrupt should be hanged.”Â
He however differed with former Chief Justice R M Lodha on the issue of “cooling period’ for two years saying there was no rule restraining judges from taking up government assignments or constitutional posts after their retirement.
“There is no such hard and fast rule. There is no such rule (of two year cooling-off period). There are number of institutions (required to be occupied by the retired judges like tribunals), do you want them to be occupied by politicians?” he asked.