January 27,2025: Uttarakhand has officially become the first Indian state to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) on Monday, a move that has stirred political debates and national attention.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami launched the UCC portal and rules at an event in Dehradun. The Chief Minister also launched the Gazette Notification for the UCC. He earlier said the law will bring uniformity in society while ensuring equal rights and responsibilities for all citizens.
“Today, by implementing UCC in Uttarakhand, we are paying our true tribute to the makers of the Constitution, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar and all the respected members of the Constituent Assembly,” Dhami said on the occasion.
“Uniform Civil Code has been fully implemented in Uttarakhand from this very moment and the constitutional and civil rights of all the citizens of the state of Uttarakhand have become equal and from this very moment, women of all religions have got equal rights,” he added.
The UCC addresses various societal issues, including marriage, divorce, inheritance, and live-in relationships. Key aspects of the law include the registration of marriages, divorces, and live-in relationships to ensure equal property rights and protect children’s rights, with penalties for non-compliance.
UCC is a set of laws that aims to standardise personal laws across religions. The move has sparked both support and criticism, with proponents arguing for equality and opponents warning of potential societal divisions.
The UCC clarifies legal requirements for marriage, stating that only mentally capable individuals aged 21 (for men) or 18 (for women) who are not already married may enter into a union. Marriages can be performed according to religious customs, but registration will be mandatory to ensure legal recognition.
The law also addresses issues related to the creation and cancellation of wills and codicils under testamentary succession. Marriages solemnized before March 26, 2010, or those outside the state will be eligible for registration if legal requirements are met.
The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Act was notified on March 12, 2024, after getting the nod from President Droupadi Murmu. “The Uniform Civil Code is just an offering made by our state in the great ‘yagya’ being performed by the prime minister to make the country a developed, organized, harmonious and self-reliant nation,” he said.
However, the opposition Congress said the UCC implementation in Uttarakhand is nothing but “kickstarting a pilot project” without proper consensus. “Can a uniform civil code be state-specific. You talk of the ‘uniform’ civil code and then make it state-specific,” said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi.
What Is The Uniform Civil Code?
The UCC refers to one law that would be applicable to all religious communities in matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, maintenance etc. India has a uniform or one set of ‘criminal code’ for all its citizens but doesn’t have uniform civil law.
After much debate, tribals have been kept out of the UCC ambit, and has a complete ban on practices like halala, iddat, and talaq (customs related to marriage and divorce in Muslim Personal Law).
The UCC, which has 392 sections under seven schedules, is based on a 750-page draft, spread over four volumes, prepared by an expert committee formed by the government in June 2022, to examine the way the law can be introduced in the state.
The five-member expert committee, headed by Retd. Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, had submitted its draft to Uttarakhand on February 2, 2024, which was subsequently passed by the State Cabinet on February 4. The Bill, after it was passed in the Assembly during a special session, was sent for Governor’s nod and was approved by the Lt. Gen Gurmit Singh (Retd) on February 28. This received presidential assent in March 2024.
What Are The UCC Provisions On Marriage?
According to the government, a public welfare system promoting the protection of individual rights and social harmony has been provided in the Uniform Civil Code Act to streamline and simplify the legal processes related to marriage.
Under this, marriage can be solemnised only between those parties, none of whom has a living spouse, both are mentally capable of giving legal permission, the man should have completed at least 21 years of age and the woman 18 years of age and they should not be in the ambit of prohibited relationships.
Marriage rituals can be performed in any form under religious customs or legal provisions, but it is mandatory to register marriages taking place after the implementation of the Act within 60 days.
Moreover, the acceptance and acknowledgement of marriage registration is also required to be completed promptly. After receiving the application, the sub-registrar has to make an appropriate decision within 15 days. If no decision is taken in that period, then that application will be automatically forwarded to the registrar.
The implementation of the UCC was a major commitment of the BJP in the run-up to the 2022 assembly polls in Uttarakhand which saw the party storm to power for a second consecutive term.
