The Uttarakhand Assembly on Wednesday passed the Uniform Civil Code bill, which seeks to replace the religious personal laws that govern marriage, relationship, inheritance among other issues. Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had tabled the contentious legislation in the house on Tuesday.
With this, Uttarakhand has become the first state in India to have a law on the Uniform Civil Code.
Dhami said the draft of the bill was prepared in accordance with the Constitution.
‘After independence, the makers of the Constitution gave the right under Article 44 that the states can also introduce the UCC at appropriate time… People have doubts regarding this. We made the draft as per the constitutional system’ CM Dhami said in the assembly.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has promised that his state will be the second to implement the law.
Uniform Civil Code Bill tabled earlier in Uttarakhand Assembly, parliamentarian says ‘against Quran’
Dhami on Tuesday tabled the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill in the state Assembly amid a special four-day session.
ttarakhand will become the first state after Independence (apart from Goa) to adopt the UCC.
As its name suggests, the UCC proposes uniform civil laws for all communities in the state, irrespective of caste and religion.
If signed into law, the UCC would provide a legal framework for marriage, divorce, land, property and inheritance laws for the state’s citizens, replacing personal religious laws.
The passage of this bill was one of the big poll promises made by the ruling BJP in the state, ahead of the Assembly polls in 2022.
Once implemented in Uttarakhand, other states such as Assam and Gujarat are also likely to follow suit.
Muslim body criticizes Uniform Civil Code, parliamentarian says against Quran
The Uniform Civil Code is against the tenets of the Quran, the holy book of the Muslims, said Samajwadi Party MP ST Hasan on Tuesday, as UCC bill was tabled in the assembly. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has also criticized the legislation.
‘We won’t abide by it (UCC Bill) if it is against the ‘hidayat’ (instructions) given to Muslims in the Quran. We don’t have any issue if it is as per ‘hidayat‘ (Islamic law),’ he told PTI.
The bill is expected to sail through because of the clear BJP majority in the state assembly.
Congress ‘not against’ UCC, but oppose manner of implementation
The Congress today said it is not against the UCC but the manner in which it is being tabled.
‘We are not against it (Uniform Civil Code). The House is governed by the rules of conduct of business but the BJP is continuously ignoring it and wants to suppress the voice of the MLAs based on the strength of numbers. It is the right of the MLAs to express their views in the House, during Question Hour, whether they have a proposal under Rule 58 or under other rules, they have the right to raise their voices on various issues of the state in the Assembly,’ said LoP Yashpal Arya.
‘No one has the draft copy and they want an immediate discussion on it. The central government is using a sensitive state like Uttarakhand for tokenism, if they want to bring UCC, it should have been brought by the central government,’ he told ANI.
Declare live-in relationships or face 6-month jail
In a particular rule, individuals, who are in, or planning to enter into live-in relationships, should register themselves with officials under the UCC in Uttarakhand, once it becomes a law.
Those who fail to adhere to the rules, withhold information or give a false statement in their undertaking, will face a jail term of up to six months and a fine of INR 25,000 or both.
Individuals staying in a live-in relationship for more than a month without submitting a statement could be punished and sent to jail for up to three months or fined Rs 10,000 or bot
Parental consent is also required for individuals below the age of 21 and they should submit a statement to the Registrar stating whether they are residents of Uttarakhand or not.
The statements of live-in partners will be forwarded to the officer in charge of a local police station. The police station will be informed by the authorities if the details provided in the statement turn out to be incorrect
Interestingly, as per the Uttarakhand UCC, a woman who has been deserted in a live-in relationship can approach the court and is entitled to claim maintenance.
A child in a live-in relationship will be declared the legitimate child of the couple under the UCC provisions.
This article has been updated.