Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced the date for the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code in the state. The chief minister has declared that Uttarakhand will implement UCC before the state's Foundation Day on November 9.
Uttarakhand introduced the UCC Bill in the state legislative assembly on February 6 and it was passed the next day during a special session of the state assembly.
Deeming it a "historic day", the Uniform Civil Code aims to establish a uniform set of rules regarding personal matters such as marriage, property rights, inheritance, divorce and much more.
Based on the Central government's introduction of UCC, the law will apply to all citizens irrespective of their religion, gender or sexual orientation. However, during the introduction of the UCC, the requirement to register live-in relationships sparked massive debate on social media.
Following its passage in the state assembly, Uttarakhand Governor Gurmit Singh referred the bill to President Dropuadi Murmu for assent. The President of India approved the bill on March 13, making Uttarakhand to first state to implement UCC.
About Uttarakhand UCC
The Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand has a total of 392 sections. These sections are divided into four parts and seven chapters which cover providing equal rights to women in matters of marriage, divorce, alimony and property inheritance.
The UCC also mentions certain kinds of relationships, bans polygamy, and sets the marriageable age for men and women at 21 years and 18 years, respectively. The registration of a marriage would also be made mandatory under the law.
Under the state UCC, failure to register a live-in relationship would result in a fine of 10,000 or imprisonment of three months or both. While the law would be applicable to all citizens of the state, Uttarakhand's Scheduled Tribe population will be exempt.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
