Uttarakhand To Implement Uniform Civil Code Today: Same Age for Marriage, Register Live-In Relations and More

Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand from today.
Photo : iStock

Uttarakhand is all set to create history on Monday as it readies to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) becoming the first state to do so. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had said that all preparations to implement the law were done, and the enforcement would begin a day after Republic Day, i.e. on January 27.
In an official statement, the CM had said that officials concerned have been apprised of the Act, new laws and regulations. He said that the UCC will bring about uniformity in society and ensure equal rights and responsibilities for all citizens.
The Uniform Civil Code is mentioned as one of the Fundamental Duties in the Constitution and has been a long-pending promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Code will see its maiden implementation in the hill state of Uttarakhand.

“UCC is just an offering made by our state in the great ‘yagya’ being performed by the Prime Minister to make the country a developed, organised, harmonious and self-reliant nation,” the Chief Minister had said.
It was one of the promises the party made during the 2022 state assembly elections. The saffron party secured its second consecutive victory, a first in Uttarakhand since its formation in 2000.

The law’s implementation was a major commitment of the BJP in the run-up to the 2022 assembly polls which saw the party storm to power for a second consecutive term, something never done by any other party in the state since its creation in 2000.

Uttarakhand UCC Timeline

The Dhami government’s cabinet in its very first meeting in March 2022 cleared a proposal for the formation of an expert committee to draft the law.
A panel, headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Ranjana Prakash Desai was constituted on May 27, 2022 to prepare the draft of the UCC.
Desai-led committee submitted a mammoth draft comprising four volumes, after one and a half years of dialogue with different sections of the state’s population, the PTI report added.
The draft was submitted on February 2, 2024. Five days later on Feb 7, a legislation on it was passed. The legislation got the President’s assent a month later – clearing all hurdles for its implementation.
Later, another expert committee was formed, headed by former chief secretary Shatrughna Singh, to frame the rules and regulations for the implementation of the Act.
It submitted the report to the state government late last year, after which the state cabinet approved it allowing the CM to decide a date for its implementation.

What is Uttarakhand UCC?

The Uniform Civil Code Act that Uttarakhand will implement today, will govern and regulate the laws relating to marriage, divorce, succession, live-in relationships and other related matters. According to the UCC, the age for marriage for both men and women would now be set as same.
The UCC will also set the grounds of divorce and procedures across all religions, and bans polygamy and ‘halala’.

Explaining about the features, Doon University Vice Chancellor Surekha Dangwal, who was part of the panel said the provisions are aimed at bringing about gender parity in matters of marriage, divorce and succession, treating all children as legitimate.
He said the UCC aims to legitmise children born of void or voidable marriages, simplify the process of preparing a will and regulate live-in relationships.
“Gender parity across all religions is the spirit of UCC,” Dangwal told PTI.
Under the law, it would be mandatory to register all marriages and live-in relationships in the state. Facilities have also been created to help people register their marriages online so that they do not have to run around government offices for it, Dangwal added.
“Another remarkable feature of the UCC is that it treats all children as legitimate. We have in fact totally done away with the term illegitimate in the context of children,” she said, quoted PTI.
She explained the UCC also provides a special provision for defence personnel called “privileged will” which can be made both in writing or by word of mouth.
Any soldier or air force personnel engaged in an expedition or actual warfare or a mariner at sea can make a privileged will for which rules have been kept flexible, she added.
Uttarakhand will become the first state to implement the UCC and several states are likely to follow suit including Assam, which has expressed its desire to adopt Uttarakhand’s UCC as a model.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/india/uttarakhand-to-implement-uniform-civil-code-today-same-age-for-marriage-register-live-in-relations-pushkar-dhami-article-117590716

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