Dhami also expressed hope that the Uttarakhand UCC would act as a template for other state governments to follow suit.
Based on the recommendations made by a high-powered committee on UCC submitted to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in Dehradun on Friday, the state government is gearing up to introduce a Bill in the Assembly next week to implement a common civil code in the state.
“There has been a long-standing demand in the country for UCC. According to Article 44 of the Constitution, states can bring UCC. We will discuss the matter in the form of the Bill accordingly in the House,” Dhami told reporters in Delhi after having received the report earlier on Friday morning.
Dhami also expressed hope that the Uttarakhand UCC would act as a template for other state governments to follow suit.
“A new chapter on UCC would begin and we hope this will pave the way for other states to bring in similar laws,” Dhami said.
The introduction of a common code dealing with laws that guide marriages, divorce, maintenance, inheritance and adoptions was one of the major promises made by the BJP in the last state Assembly polls in 2022. To examine the issue, the Dhami government had formed a five-member panel headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai.
The draft code submitted by the committee on Friday runs into 400 sections and is part of the 740-page report in four volumes.