Creating history, Uttarakhand today became the first Indian state to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami, announced the launched the UCC portal and which marked the formal adoption of UCC.
Talking about it, Dhami said at the UCC launch, “Uniform Civil Code is a constitutional measure to end discrimination. Through this, an attempt has been made to give equal rights to all citizens. With its implementation, women’s empowerment will be ensured the true sense.” He further said that the UCC does not discriminate against anyone based on their gender, caste, or religion. Emphasising on this, Dhami added, “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.”
What is the Uniform Civil Code (UCC)?
With the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in place, Uttarakhand government seeks to establish a common set of laws and legal provisions for all its citizens, regardless of their gender or religion. And thus, the UCC aims to standardise laws for marriage, divorce, live-in relationships, property rights, adoption, etc.
“Through this, evils like Halala, polygamy, child marriage, triple talaq etc can be completely stopped,” Dhami said at the UCC launch.
However, the UCC won’t be applicable to Scheduled Tribes. “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,” Dhami mentioned at the UCC launch today.
UCC laws for marriage
Under the UCC, the Uttarakhand government has now set the legal marriage age for men and women to be 21 and 18 years, respectively. With this, it aims to ensure that people complete their education first before entering matrimony. The UCC makes it mandatory for people to register their marriage.
Under the UCC, practices like polygamy and child marriage are also banned. It also implements a uniform law for divorce, thus banning triple talaq, nikah halala, iddat. This will ensure people get equality, regardless of their gender, religion, or community.
The UCC is also applicable to inherihance right. It also recognises children born to live-in couples as “legitimate child of the couple”, thus providing them equal rights in inheritance. The UCC also omitts gender differences in inheritance law and refers both sons and daughters as “child”, thus promoting gender equality.
UCC for those in live-in relationships
For those in live-in relationships, the law makes it mandatory for couples who are 21 years old or above to register their live-in relationships. Couples in live-in relationship, who are under 21 years of age, will need parental consent for the registration.
UCC for live-couples applies to all people who are “residents of Uttarakhand… (including those who are) in a live-in relationship outside the state”.
Those who fail to declare/ register their live-in relationship or provide false details could be imprisoned for three months or be fined INR 25,000, or both. Even delaying to register live-in relationships by a month could trigger a jail term of up to three months, a fine of INR 10,000, or both.
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