Uniform Civil Code – President gives assent to Uttarakhand’s Bill

New Delhi/Dehradun. The President of Bharat Droupadi Murmu has granted assent to the Uttarakhand’s Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, 2024.

With this, Uttarakhand becomes the first state to implement uniform code governing the lives of people.

Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami posted on Twitter (now X) informing about the bill being now made a law.

“It is a moment of great joy and pride for all the people of the state that the Uniform Civil Code Bill passed by our government in the Uttarakhand Assembly has been approved by the respected President Smt. Draupadi Murmu ji. Certainly, with the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code law in the state, along with providing equal rights to all citizens, the oppression of women will also be curbed. #UniformCivilCode will play an important role in promoting harmony by proving the importance of social equality in the state.”

On February 7, the State Assembly had passed the said Bill after a five-member panel headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai had handed over the UCC final report to the Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on February 2.

The Bill, which has 392 sections under seven schedules, is based on over 750 page draft, spread in four volumes, prepared by an expert panel.

With a view to bringing the various facets of civil life under a single law, the UCC lays out what is permissible and what is prohibited in relationships across faiths, subject to personal customary laws.

The said law seeks to penalise persons who do not register their live-in relationships with a prison term. The proposed legislation also deals with other aspects such as marriage, divorce and inheritance in Uttarakhand.