Non-member part of meeting, Justice (retd) R C Chavan wrote. (Photo Enhanced using AI)Two days after Maharashtra’s Uniform Civil Code (UCC) committee held its second meeting, retired Bombay High Court Judge Justice RC Chavan has resigned from the panel, citing differences over the process of seeking public feedback and questioning the alleged presence and role of a non-member at the meeting.The seven-member committee, headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Justice Ranjana Desai, was set up in July to draft rules and recommendations for implementing UCC in the state.Justice Chavan sent his resignation on September 19, hours after the committee held an online meeting. The state government accepted it on Monday.Phone calls and messages to Justice Desai seeking her comment went unanswered.Read | Why Amit Shah’s 2029 UCC push is going through states, not ParliamentIn his email to the committee, Justice Chavan said one of the agendas of the meeting was to finalise the questionnaire for public feedback on the UCC. He said, “Three members tried to articulate their views, such as respondents being required to answer only in yes or no, or the need to have the questionnaire quickly examined professionally by professors under the supervision of member Dr Suvarna Rawal. The honourable chairperson had already circulated the questionnaire finalised by her and stated that it would be uploaded once the website was ready. Thus, the third and the last item on the agenda of today’s meeting was over. Therefore, to save time and internet, I logged out.”Explained | When a Congress leader backed UCC: How Constituent Assembly debated code“My attempt to put forth my views, even though the questionnaire finalised by the honourable chairperson had already been mailed, was due to my misunderstanding that our exercise was aimed at gathering the views of the people of Maharashtra, and to generate a consensus to remedy the issues of late marriages, perversions, infertility, unstable marriage, time-consuming dispute resolution mechanism, etc. Now that it is removed, I realise that the aim is to just provide an opportunity to people who may care, to share their responses in a yes or no to the questions posed so that analysis of data becomes easy,” he said.The email also alleged that a non-member attended the meeting. The non-member said the website prepared by the state officials needed further modifications, and the committee chairperson directed the authorities to make the necessary changes within a week, Justice Chavan said.Story continues below this adHe said he did not know where the person fit, and added that the non-member’s suggestion made him speculate that the state’s officials may feel they are not competent. “To solve this problem, I am vacating my seat on the committee by resigning now, so that the government can fill in the blank promptly,” he said, adding that as a free citizen, he would be free to air his views. “It was a great learning experience on a subject close to my heart,” he said.The meeting’s three-point agenda included confirming the minutes of the previous meeting held last month, and discussion on the website for feedback and opinion on the UCC.Sadaf Modak is a distinguished Legal Correspondent based in Mumbai whose work demonstrates exceptional Expertise and Authority in covering the intricacies of the judicial and correctional systems. 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