Wednesday, 07 February 2024 | Gajendra Singh Negi | DEHRADUN
The draft of the bill of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) tabled in the Uttarakhand Assembly by the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday seeks to govern and regulate the laws relating to marriage and divorce, succession and live-in relations in the State. However it is the live- in relationships where the bill of Dhami government makes a bold statement by taking effective measures to accord a legal entity to such relationships.
The bill makes it mandatory for the partners to register their live-in relationship with the registrar within whose jurisdiction they reside. Importantly, such a registration will also be compulsory for the residents of Uttarakhand staying outside the State. In a decision which will go a long way in giving legal acceptance to the children born out of such relationships, the UCC bill gives legitimacy to such children. However, in the cases where at least one of the persons is married or already in a live-in relationship and where the consent of one of the partners was obtained by force, coercion, undue influence or fraud there will be no need for registration of live-in relationships. In order to terminate such relationships either both or one of the partners can submit a statement regarding termination of their relationship to the registrar.
The women partners will be entitled to claim maintenance from their male partners in case they are deserted. The bill makes a provision that the State government may empower a registrar for registering such relationships. The registrar shall also maintain registers for statements of live-in relationships and statements of termination of these relationships.
In the cases where the partners have failed to register their relationships the registrar will issue a notice- on his own or on receipt of a complaint in this regard-to the partners. The partners will have to register their live-in relationship within 30 days of receipt of the notice.
The new law has made a provision of punishment for the partners in live-in relationships in the event of non-registration of their relationships. There is a provision of imprisonment of three to six months and fine of Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 for non-registration, providing wrong information in the statement of registration.
