Uttarakhand assembly passes the Uniform Civil Code bill
The Uniform Civil Code bill, which aims to replace the religious personal rules that regulate marriage, relationships, inheritance, and other matters, was approved by the Uttarakhand Assembly on Wednesday. The controversial bill was introduced in the assembly on Tuesday by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Uttarakhand is now the first state in India to have a Uniform Civil Code law.
Bill drafted as per constitutional provisions
According to Dhami, the bill’s draft was created in compliance with the Constitution. “After independence, the makers of the Constitution gave the right under Article 44 that the states can also introduce the UCC at appropriate time… People have doubts regarding this. We made the draft as per the constitutional system,” he said in the assembly.
The primary pledge made by the Bharatiya Janata Party in its manifesto for the Uttarakhand Assembly election of 2022 was the establishment of the Uniform Civil Code. Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, has pledged that his state will be the second to put the law into effect.
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A Uniform Civil Code bill: What is it?
The measure aims to fundamentally alter the institution of marriage and similar relationships. The primary feature of the law is that it requires live-in couples to be registered. The bill stipulates that live-in partnerships must be registered within a month of the date they start living together. Adults will need to get their parents’ permission.
The bill also establishes a consistent divorce procedure and outright prohibits child marriage. Women of all religions are granted equal rights in their ancestral property under the Code. The minimum age to marry in each community has been set by the bill: 21 for men and 18 for women. All religions require marriages to be registered. Unregistered unions will be considered illegitimate.
