Uttarakhand To Implement Uniform Civil Code Before State's Foundation Day On 9 November— All About It

The Uttarakhand government will implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) law ahead of the state's foundation day on 9 November.

Introduced on 6 February this year in the state legislative assembly, the UCC Bill was passed on 7 February during a special session.

On 29 February, Uttarakhand Governor Gurmit Singh referred the bill sent by the state government to President Murmu for her approval, which she approved on 13 March, making Uttarakhand the first state in the country to pass the UCC.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami earlier on Sunday (4 August) said that Uniform Civil Code would be implemented in the state before the State Foundation Day.

The Uttarakhand UCC Bill aims to create uniform rules for personal matters, including marriage, divorce, inheritance, and property rights, ensuring equal application to all citizens regardless of religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

The law consists of 392 sections across four parts and seven chapters.

It grants equal rights to women in marriage, divorce, alimony, and property inheritance, prohibits certain relationships, bans polygamy, sets the marriage age at 21 for men and 18 for women, and mandates marriage registration.

The state's Scheduled Tribe population which comprises 2.89 per cent of the population are exempted from this law.

Some of the key provisions of the bills include making halala, iddat, and triple talaq – practices governing marriage and divorce under the Muslim personal law – punishable offences.

The bill also makes registration of live-in relationships mandatory, and proposes equal property inheritance rights to sons and daughters.

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