Uttarakhand Cabinet Passes Uniform Civil Code Draft, Bill Set To Be Tabled In Special Assembly Session Starting Today

The Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is set to be tabled during the special four-day Assembly session that begins today as its final draft was passed by the Cabinet on Sunday (4 February).

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami chaired a cabinet meeting at his official residence, after which he announced the passing of the proposal to introduce UCC legislation in the Assembly session.

Earlier, Dhami had said that the special Assembly session is planned only to discuss the UCC bill. The expert panel appointed by the Uttarakhand Government submitted its report to CM Dhami on Friday.

The UCC draft focuses on women's equality and suggests prohibiting polygamy. It aims to standardise the marriage age across religions and make certain religious personal law practices punishable.

The UCC draft proposes making halala, iddat, and triple talaq – practices governing marriage and divorce under the Muslim personal law – punishable offences.

It also proposes making the legal age for marriage, for both men and women, uniform across religions. Further, the draft recommends exempting tribal communities from the purview of the bill.

The UCC was one of the major poll promises of the BJP in the run-up to the state Assembly elections in February 2022. The committee was announced after the first Cabinet meeting of the newly-formed Uttarakhand government.

The panel received over 2.3 lakh suggestions from the public, most of which were received through letters, registered posts, emails, and written suggestions through its online portal.