Dehradun: The Uttarakhand Assembly recently approved the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, making Uttarakhand the first state in India to implement such legislation. Proposed by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and swiftly passed on Wednesday, the UCC standardises laws regarding marriage, divorce, property inheritance, and more.
This milestone follows the drafting of the bill by a committee led by retired Supreme Court Justice Ranjana P Desai, appointed by the Uttarakhand government.
The UCC aims to replace diverse personal laws based on religion with a uniform set of regulations, prohibiting practices like bigamy and polygamy.
However, the UCC will not apply to “members of any Scheduled Tribes within the meaning of clause (25) of Article 366 read with Article 142 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.”
With Uttarakhand leading the way, other BJP-governed states like Gujarat and Assam are reportedly following suit, hinting at a potential nationwide adoption of the Uniform Civil Code.
