INDIAN FAMILY LAW NEEDS A CONSTITUTIONAL FLOOR, NOT MERELY A UNIFORM CODE

Debates on Indian family law are often framed as a choice between preserving personal laws and adopting a Uniform Civil Code. This article argues that the more immediate concern lies elsewhere: whether every individual, regardless of the matrimonial regime governing them, is guaranteed a basic level of constitutional protection. It examines marriage, divorce and maintenance to show how legal pluralism can coexist with individual autonomy, dignity and economic security. Drawing on developments in matrimonial jurisprudence, the article questions a fault-oriented divorce system that can make the end of a marriage unnecessarily adversarial and highlights the need to treat maintenance as a response to economic dependency rather than as charity or punishment. It ultimately proposes a common constitutional floor built around free consent, equal capacity, meaningful access to divorce, financial disclosure and effective maintenance. Uniformity, the article suggests, is not the only measure of reform. The more important question is whether every person can enter marriage freely and leave it with dignity and financial security.