February 08, 2024: The Uttarakhand State Assembly passed the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill on February 7, 2024, a day after chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami introduced it in the lower House. Now, the Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand, 2024, will become an Act of law, and the draft provisions of the law, which was created under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana P Desai, will come into effect.
With this Uttarakhand has become the first state in India to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which presents common law for marriage, divorce, inheritance of property, etc.
Terming the occasion a historic moment, CM Dhami said that the Assembly had become the first legislature in independent India to pass a Bill that imposes common rules for all communities and aims to provide equal rights to all without discriminating in matters of marriage, maintenance, adoption, succession and divorce.
“Our state got the opportunity despite there being many big states in the country. This is a historic opportunity. This is not a normal law, but a law that will provide a common legal framework for all. I hope other states will also table the UCC bill. I also want to thank the people of the state on this occasion. Every person in the state must be feeling proud today,” the CM said.
He said the state has now joined the league of nations, listing other countries such as Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Japan, the United States, Canada, Bangladesh and Indonesia that have implemented a uniform civil code.
The common law that provides for a standard set of rules pertaining to marriages, divorces, live-in relationships, intestate succession and testamentary succession will subsume customary laws across faiths and tribes. However, it will not be applicable on members of the Scheduled Tribe in the state.
“Nothing contained in this Code shall apply to the members of any Scheduled Tribes within the meaning of Clause (25) of Article 366 read with Article 342 of the Constitution of India and the persons and group of persons whose customary rights are protected under Part XXI of the Constitution of India,” says the UCC.
The Uttarakhand UCC, which bans bigamy along with polygamy, may become a source of inspiration as other states in India speed up efforts to launch their own versions of a standard civil code.
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