Thursday, 14 March 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Uttarakhand government has notified the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the State. With the gazette notification the State has become the first State in the country to have the UCC act. The Pushkar Singh Dhami government issued the notification after the President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the UCC bill which was passed by the State assembly on February 7, 2024. The gazette notification was issued by the legal and parliamentary affairs department of the Uttarakhand administration on Wednesday.
The draft of the UCC bill was handed over to the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami by the five member expert committee headed by Justice (Rtd) Ranjana Prasad Desai on February 2 this year. The government tabled the bill in a special session of the State assembly on February 6 and was passed on February 7. The bill was later sent to the President by the governor Lieutenant General (rtd) Gurmit Singh.
The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will govern and regulate the law relating to marriage and divorce, succession, live-in relationships and civil issues in Uttarakhand. The law however will not be applicable to the Scheduled Tribes (ST) of the State. The draft of the UCC bill is divided into two parts, the first part deals with marriage and divorce while the second part is about succession. In the first part dealing with marriage and divorce is subdivided into chapters in conditions for solemnizing marriages, registration of marriage and divorce, judicial separation and nullity of marriage and divorce. The UCC mandates that 21 years and 18 years will be the minimum age of marriage for men and women respectively and it will be applicable on all the religions. Similarly the procedure of divorce, adoption, succession and maintenance will be similar for all the residents of the state.
The State government is now working to provide a legal framework for implementing the UCC in the State and for the purpose a nine member committee has been constituted.
Dhami expresses happiness at Presidential assent to UCC
DEHRADUN: Expressing happiness at the assent given by the President Droupadi Murmu to the UCC bill, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that it is a momentous occasion for Uttarakhand. He said that apart from giving equal civil rights to all the citizens, the UCC will help to rein in the exploitation of women. The UCC will also play an important role in proving social equality in the State, he said.
