The Uniform Civil Code will be implemented as a law in Uttarakhand from today.Uttarakhandwould be the first state in independent India to implement such a law according to the decision made by the current Chief Minister. The Chief Minister of the Uttrakhand state, Pushkar Singh Dhami revealed to the media that the government has almost completed all the tasks from framing rules for the implementation of the law to training the concerned officials for the implementation of the law. According to him, the implementation of UCC will bring uniformity among the citizens and ensure equal rights and responsibilities for all citizens. He stated to the PTI,”UCC 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”.

When Did This Start?

The BJP party had promised to implement the uniform civil code law in the Uttarakhand state if it comes to power in the 2022 assembly polls.This promise of the BJP them win the elections that year by creating history for the first time in the Uttarakhand state. The BJP party came to power for the second consecutive term that no other party has had in that state since its creation in 2000.

UCC: Creation and the Process

An expert panel was formed for drafting UCC after the first cabinet meeting of the BJP Government after winning the 2022 assembly elections in March 2022. This panel was headed by the retiredSupreme Courtjudge Ranjana Prakash Desai. Under his guidance, the panel drafted its first draft, which was constituted on May 27, 2022. The first draft was submitted to the state for approval on February 2, 2024, after two years of its initiation. The first draft was drafted in four volumes after one and a half years of dialogue from different sections of the state’s population. President Draupadi Murmu gave the green signal for the new law in March 2024 and finally, the new bill was approved to be made as a law after two years of its initiation.

What Is UCC?

The UCC standardises the legalmarriage age at 21 and 18 years, respectively. This law bans polygamy and ‘halala’. According to the UCC, rules and regulations are the same and equal for both treating all children as legitimate irrespective of how they are born and making it compulsory to register the marriages and live-in relationships for official records. Declaring all children as legitimate could simplify the will-making process and to hold equal shares in the properties of their parents irrespective of how they are born. According to the sources from the officials, the government has made provisions for registering marriages online making it easier.