By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 20 Jan: The Uttarakhand Cabinet today approved the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) manual, paving the way for its implementation in the state. As had been indicated by Garhwal Post a few days ago, a meeting of the State Cabinet was held under the chairmanship of CM Dhami here, today, during which the proposal for UCC was discussed and approved.
Speaking informally with media persons after the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami stated that, in 2022, the government fulfilled its promise to the public by introducing the UCC bill. Since then, efforts have been made to implement it promptly by completing all necessary processes. He expressed pride in Uttarakhand becoming the first state to implement the UCC and assured that all preparations have been completed for its rollout. Dhami did not specify the dates from which the UCC will be implemented, but sources claimed that it is likely to come into effect from 26 January or by the end of this month.
Officials indicated that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) web portal will be used tomorrow simultaneously across the state for the first time as part of a mock drill at the government level. Registrars, sub-registrars, and other officers undergoing UCC training will log in to the portal from their respective offices to practice the registration of services such as marriages, divorces, live-in relationships, and wills. This exercise aims to ensure that there are no technical obstacles or glitches in providing related services to the public once UCC is implemented. The mock drill will allow the government, the special committee, and the training team to test their preparations.
It may be recalled that CM Dhami had announced his intent to implement the UCC during the assembly elections on 12 February 2022. After the state assembly elections, an expert committee was formed in May 2022 under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai to draft the law. The committee received 20 lakh suggestions offline and online. The committee directly communicated with 2.50 lakh people. On 2 February, last year, the expert committee submitted the draft report to the CM. The UCC Bill was introduced in the Assembly on 6 February. The bill was passed by the Assembly on 7 February. The Raj Bhawan later sent the bill to the President for approval. On 11 March, the President gave approval to the UCC Bill. Following this, a committee was formed to make rules for the UCC law. The Rules and Implementation Committee submitted the manual to the state government today on 18 October 2024 in both Hindi and English versions. Today these rules were approved by the Cabinet.
Some important provisions of the UCC include same law for marriage, divorce, alimony, and inheritance for all religions and communities; it will be mandatory for every couple to register divorce and marriage; facility of registration will be provided at Gram Panchayat, Nagar Panchayat, Municipality and the Municipal Corporation levels. A provision of fine up to Rs 25,000 will be levied for not registering. Those who do not register will also be deprived of the benefits of government facilities. In addition, it has also been made mandatory to register live in relationships and failing to do so can attract penalty or imprisonment up to 6 months. It has also been provisioned that the couples will be able to rent a house, hostel or PG only with the registration receipt. Children born to live-in couples will be considered legitimate children and will get all the rights of biological children.
In addition, under the UCC, the minimum age for marriage will be 21 for a male and 18 for a female irrespective of the religion or caste; Women shall also be able to have the same reasons and rights as men as the basis for divorce; Practices like Halala and Iddat will end. Any kind of conditions on a woman to remarry will be prohibited. If someone converts religion without consent, then the other person will have the right to divorce and take alimony from that person; it will be completely prohibited to marry again without divorce if a husband and wife are alive and at the time of divorce or domestic dispute between husband and wife, the custody of a child up to five years will remain with the mother.
As per the UCC law, son and daughter will have equal rights in property; illegitimate children will also be considered biological children of that couple; the property rights of a child growing in the womb of a woman will be protected. A person shall be able to give property to any person through a will.
The UCC, comprising 392 Sections under seven schedules, is based on a detailed 750-page draft spread across four volumes.
