Today, Uttarakhand will become the first state in the country where the Uniform Civil Code will come into effect. It will govern and regulate laws related to marriage and divorce, inheritance, live-in relationships and related matters.
.
UCC Uttarakhand:
A government order issued by Home Secretary Shailesh Bagoli has said that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will come into effect in Uttarakhand from January 27.
He said all preparations for the implementation of the UCC have been completed, including the approval of the rules implementing the law and the training of all officials. The portal will be launched by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at 12:30 pm on January 27 at the Secretariat. Uttarakhand is all set to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) from today, bringing significant changes in the state. Registration of marriages will be mandatory, with registration facilities at the village assembly level. A uniform law for divorce will be applicable to all irrespective of caste, religion or community.
How Will UCC Impact Citizens?
After the implementation of UCC, marriage registration will be mandatory. Registration facility will also be available at every gram sabha level.
There will be a uniform law of divorce for any person irrespective of caste, religion or community.
Currently, people of every religion in the country settle these matters through their personal laws.
Apart from this, polygamy will be banned in the state. The age of marriage for girls will be the same irrespective of caste and religion. That is, the marriageable age of a girl will be 18 years.
After the implementation of UCC, children of all religions will have the right to adopt. However, it has been informed that children of other religions will not be adopted.
Practices like halala will also be stopped in Uttarakhand. Girls will get equal share of inheritance with boys.
After the implementation of UCC in Uttarakhand, it will be mandatory for couples to register their live-in relationship. If the age of the couple is between 18 and 21 years, then their parents will also have to give their consent at the time of registration.
Under UCC, a child born from a live-in relationship will also get the same rights as the child of a married couple.
Scheduled Tribes have been completely excluded from the rules and regulations of the Uniform Civil Code. Apart from this, there has been no change in the provisions of the law on transgenders and religious matters such as worship and traditions.
.
The committee was formed about two and a half years ago.
It was constituted on May 27, 2022 under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, which submitted its detailed report to the state government on February 2, 2024, which was prepared in four volumes after discussions with various departments. Based on the report of about one and a half years, the UCC Bill was passed in a special session of the state assembly on February 7, 2024 and a month later on March 12, 2024, the President also gave his assent to it.
.
Congress’ Objection
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said UCC is nothing but kickstarting a pilot project. “This is nothing but an attempt to fast-track the process, to have a pilot project, before you can impose… because you don’t have a consensus. So you do it like kickstarting a pilot project,” the leader said.