Panaji (Goa) [India], September 17 : BJP Goa Pradesh spokesperson Advocate Yatish Naik said AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had made “factually incorrect statements” about the Civil Code in force in Goa, asserting that its provisions apply uniformly to all Goans irrespective of religion, caste or community.
Naik said matters pertaining to marriage and divorce were covered under the Civil Code in Goa and that the law required compulsory registration of marriages for all Goans, irrespective of their religion, caste or community.
On succession, he said the Goa legislature had enacted the Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inventory Proceedings Act, 2012, which was adopted in 2016 and applies to all Goans irrespective of their caste, religion or community.
“There were some usages and customs which permitted certain things which, too, post the liberation of Goa and the accession of Goa to the Indian Union, have become redundant and unenforceable,” Naik said.
Referring to the Supreme Court judgements in Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India (1995) and Lily Thomas v. Union of India (2000), Naik said no personal law or custom permitting polygamy could be invoked to defeat the mandatory bar under Section 494 of the IPC.
“Thus, the statements of Mr Owaisi are factually incorrect and are not what the law in force is in Goa,” he said.
Naik said the Civil Code in force in Goa was uniform in its application to all Goans irrespective of their religion, caste and community and described it as a model for other states to examine and follow.
His remarks came after Owaisi on September 14 questioned the Centre's position on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), challenging Union Home Minister Amit Shah to implement in Goa the same UCC laws introduced in Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Assam.
Speaking in Hyderabad, Owaisi claimed that certain provisions of the law in Goa provided different treatment in matters relating to marriage and divorce.
He said, “... If Amit Shah talks about 'understanding the chronology', then let me tell you—stand in Goa and declare that you will implement the same UCC law there that you introduced in Uttarakhand, Gujarat, and Assam. Will you actually implement it in Goa? Go ahead and do it—but you won't.”
Owaisi further alleged that under the law in Goa, if a Hindu woman remains childless by the age of 25, her husband is permitted to enter into a second marriage, and that there was also a provision relating to a second marriage if she had not given birth to a male child by the age of 30.
He also claimed that Catholics had certain exemptions in the registration of marriages and that Catholic priests could register marriages.
Owaisi further alleged that Church authorities in Goa could grant valid divorces to Christians for civil purposes, while non-Catholics had to approach courts for divorce. He also referred to provisions relating to the annulment of marriages by church tribunals.