Dehradun: Uttarakhand became the first state in India to implement a Uniform Civil Code as Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday (Jan 27, 2025), unveiled the Uniform Civil Code notification, released the rules and launched a portal, giving the green signal for its formal enforcement in the northern state.
Dhami in his address during the event held at his camp office in Dehradun said the UCC will bring uniformity in society while ensuring equal rights and responsibilities for all citizens. The Uniform Civil Code will end discrimination against women and protect the rights of children, he said.
"Through this, evils like Halala, polygamy, child marriage, triple talaq etc can be completely stopped...We have kept our scheduled tribes mentioned under Article 342 of the Constitution out of this code so that those tribes and their rights can be protected...On this occasion today, I would like to clarify again that the Uniform Civil Code is not against any religion or sect, there is no question of targeting anyone," Dhami said.
The UCC portal (ucc.uk.gov.in/) offers services including Registration of Marriage, Registration of Divorce/Nullity of Marriage, Registration of Live-in Relationship, Termination of Live-in Relationship, and Intestate Succession-Declaration of Legal Heirs.
The Uttarakhand government has been working for about two and a half years to come up with the UCC. An expert committee was constituted for the Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand on 27 May 2022. After this, on 2 February 2024, after about 2 years, this committee submitted its report to the government. The bill was passed in the Assembly on 8 March 2024, after which it was sent to the President for approval. The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Act was notified on March 12, 2024, after presidential assent.
After the Republic Day program on Sunday, Dhami said that the BJP has fulfilled its promise made in 2022. He said that after the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code, it will be ensured that no one is discriminated against on the basis of gender, caste, or religion in Uttarakhand.
"We fought the 2022 assembly elections under the leadership of PM Modi. During that time we had promised the people of the state that we would work to implement the UCC after forming the government. We have completed all the formalities and the Act (UCC) is now ready to be implemented," he said.
He cited Article 44 of the Constitution, which mentions that the country will strive to ensure a Uniform Civil Code for citizens throughout India.
Uttarakhand UCC explained
The Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand Act, 2024 will apply to the entire state of Uttarakhand. It will cover the residents of the state living outside Uttarakhand. The Code applies to all residents of Uttarakhand except Scheduled Tribes and protected authority-empowered persons and communities.
The purpose of UCC is to simplify and standardize personal laws related to marriage, divorce, succession and inheritance. Under this, marriage can be solemnized only between those parties:
- Neither of whom has a living spouse
- Both are mentally competent to give legal permission
- The age of the man should be at least 21 years and the age of the woman should be 18 years.
- They should not be in the ambit of any prohibited relationship.
- The marriage rituals can be performed in any way under religious customs or legal provisions, but it will be mandatory to register the marriage within 60 days after the implementation of the Act.
'Uniformity in society'
Dhami said the UCC will bring about uniformity in society and ensure equal rights and responsibilities for all citizens.
"The Uniform Civil Code is just an offering made by our state in the great 'yagya' being performed by the prime minister to make the country a developed, organized, harmonious and self-reliant nation," he said.
The UCC has been on the BJP's agenda nationally for many years. But the party's government in Uttarakhand became the first to take a concrete step towards implementing it just before the Lok Sabha elections last year. Now, the UCC Act of Uttarakhand might serve as a template for other BJP-run states to enact similar legislation.
Implementation of UCC was a major commitment of the BJP in the run-up to the 2022 assembly polls in Uttarakhand which saw the party storm to power for a second consecutive term.
The state cabinet recently approved the rules and regulations for UCC's implementation and authorised the chief minister to decide a date for it. Dhami had ushered in the new year with a promise to implement it in January itself.
"We are celebrating 2025 as the silver jubilee year of statehood to Uttarakhand. It is going to be a year of big achievements. We have kept our promise of bringing a UCC. We will implement it in January," Dhami said on New Year's Day. "The Gangotri of UCC will spring from Uttarakhand and spread to the rest of the country," he had said.
'Uniform Civil Code Day'
CM Dhami, who launched the UCC manual and portal, also announced that today will be celebrated as 'Uniform Civil Code Day' in the state. When asked if the UCC is against any religion, he said theirs is a legal effort to give equal rights to all citizens by eradicating the evil practices of society. The basic beliefs and practices of any religion have not been changed through UCC, he said. UCC is already in force in all the major countries of the world including major Muslim countries, he added.
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Uttarakhand Will Show The Way To Other States: CM Pushkar Singh Dhami On Uniform Civil Code
