In a major development, the Uttarakhand State Legislative Assembly on Wednesday passed the Uniform Civil Code, Uttarakhand 2024 bill by voice vote. After the bill gets the governor’s consent, Uttarakhand will become the first state in the country to pass a law on Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
The Uniform Civil Code bill was tabled before the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, two days after the Uttarakhand Cabinet approved the final draft of the UCC. Earlier in 2022, a committee was constituted by the Pushkar Singh Dhami led state government to prepare the draft of UCC. The committee consisted of a five member panel headed by retired judge of the Supreme Court Ranjana Prakash Desai.
The other members of the committee included Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court Permod Kohli, social activist Manu Gaur, retired IAS officer Shatrughan Singh, and Doon University Vice-Chancellor Surekha Dangwal. Reportedly, some of the aspects of the Bill include mandatory registration of Live-In relations, conditions for a Contract marriage, a Ban on Halal, Iddat and Polygamy, similar inheritance rights for men and women, etc.
The Uniform Civil Code aims to facilitate the same rights to individuals across communities in their personal matters, such as inheritance and marriage.
Speaking to the media on the UCC bill before its passage, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said it is not ordinary legislation. He added that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will create equal laws for men and women across all faiths and will help create a non-partisan and non-discriminatory society.
Pushkar Singh Dhami mentioned that the Uniform Civil Code bill will especially protect the rights of women and put an end to their exploitation. The Uttarakhand Chief Minister further expressed that the bill fulfils a commitment that they had made to the people of the state in the run-up to the 2022 assembly polls.