In a landmark development, Uttarakhand is poised to usher in significant legal reforms as a five-member government-appointed panel, led by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai (Retd.), submitted a comprehensive Uniform Civil Code (UCC) draft. The proposed legislation, running into four volumes comprising 749 pages, recommends a complete ban on polygamy and child marriage, a standardized marriageable age for girls across faiths, and equitable divorce procedures.
The panel’s recommendations also include equal inheritance rights for boys and girls, mandatory marriage registration, an increased marriageable age for girls to ensure education attainment, and denial of government facilities to couples with unregistered marriages. The UCC draft emphasizes rural-level arrangements for marriage registrations for those without official documentation.
The proposed UCC, aimed at establishing uniform laws for marriage, divorce, land, property, and inheritance, will be scrutinized and discussed before being tabled in a special four-day session of the Uttarakhand assembly from February 5 to February 8.
If adopted, Uttarakhand would become the first state in post-Independence India to implement a UCC, following in the footsteps of Goa, where it has been operational since the Portuguese era.
The recommendations further extend adoption rights to all citizens, including Muslim women, while simplifying the adoption procedure. The draft proposes the prohibition of practices like halala and iddat, making declarations of live-in relationships mandatory with a defined legal format.
While the draft remains undisclosed officially, sources indicate common grounds for divorce, an end to child marriage practices, and a mandatory court process for all divorces, with a six-month cooling period. Custody arrangements are suggested, allowing grandparents to take charge in case of parental disputes, and simplified procedures for the guardianship of orphaned children.
The draft addresses socio-economic aspects, suggesting that in case of the sole breadwinner’s demise, the compensation to the surviving spouse will include provisions for the deceased’s parents. In the event of the wife’s death, the husband becomes responsible for the care of her parents, underscoring a comprehensive approach to familial responsibilities.
The UCC draft, however, excludes population control measures and the Scheduled Tribes, constituting 3% of Uttarakhand’s population. The comprehensive report is expected to be made public after it is formally presented in the assembly, setting the stage for a potential paradigm shift in the state’s legal landscape.
Sources By Agencies
