The Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, 2024 has achieved an important milestone with the assent from the President of India Draupadi Murmu.
Recall that in 2022, the Uttarakhand government under the leadership of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had constituted a committee to prepare the draft of UCC. Headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, the committee comprised five members and submitted its findings to the Chief Minister.
Subsequently, two days after the state Cabinet endorsed the final draft, the above Bill was introduced in the Uttarakhand Assembly on 6 February and passed the next day, 7 February.
On February 28, the bill received assent from the state Lieutenant Governor and was sent to the President for assent.
The law contains several important provisions, including mandatory registration of live-in relationships, rules for contract marriage, ban on halala, iddat and polygamy, and equal inheritance rights for both sexes. It extends not only to the residents of Uttarakhand but also to the people living outside its borders. However, its application to Scheduled Tribes is excluded.
One notable change brought about by the Act is the mandatory registration of live-in relationships. Under this provision, persons in a live-in relationship (who are residents of Uttarakhand) will have to register with the Registrar within one month of starting the relationship. Failure to comply can result in imprisonment, fines or both.
It is expected that the state government will soon issue a notification to implement the provisions of the law.
