75 years after the constitution was written, one state finally showed courage to bring about a “Uniform Civil Code” (UCC) for law and social order. Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code came into force on January 27, 2025 in Devbhoomi Uttarakhand. It was also announced to celebrate this day as “Uniform Civil Code” Day.
The dream of implementing UCC was seen by Constitution maker Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar and others. It was also mentioned in the Constitution.
“An app has been created to implement UCC, which will free common citizens from dozens of administrative hassles. Every family of Uttarakhand will have to register in this app, marriage registration will be mandatory after which their property, citizenship, identity etc. will be revealed automatically. The UCC app or portal is also a simplification of the administrative system, due to which the common citizen has been facing problems. Other states are also showing interest in implementing UCC after Uttarakhand’s example”:
—Manu Gaur, Member UCC Draft, Rules Committee
The Supreme Court had also directed the state and Union Governments several times to implement UCC. But the previous Congress Governments did not implement it due to their policies of Muslim appeasement and greed for vote bank.
Whereas the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and later the Bharatiya Janata Party had prominently mentioned the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code in every election manifesto.
The Pushkar Singh Dhami Government of Uttarakhand had promised the people during the last assembly election campaign that if his Government returns to power, it will implement the UCC.
UCC for the betterment of common citizens
“UCC is not against any particular class but is a constitutional provision to give every person, especially women, children and elderly parents, their rights. UCC is already implemented in many countries, including the Arab countries. In this, a uniform law and order has been created within the ambit of the Constitution, which has been mentioned by our Constitution makers in the Constitution of India. We are also proud that Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami showed the courage to implement it”:
— Shatrughan Singh, Member Draft Committee, Chairman Rules Committee
As soon as the Government was formed, the Dhami cabinet passed the first proposal for the approval of UCC and formed a draft committee under the chairmanship of former Justice Ranjana Desai. The report was passed in the Legislative Assembly, and after the consent of the Governor and the approval of the President, the Uttarakhand Government formed its rules committee under the chairmanship of former Chief Secretary Shatrughan Singh. The Dhami cabinet approved their report and implemented it as a social system and law which means that the resolution of UCC was implemented two years and eleven months after its announcement.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister on UCC
While talking to Organiser, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, “The only objective behind making registration mandatory in live-in relationship cases is the safety and protection of girls and women, the child born from live-in relationship will be considered as biological child and will be given full rights.”
A System For Women Empowerment
“In the Uniform Civil Code, the protection and security of women’s rights has been given maximum attention. Along with equal rights to property for daughters, ban on polygamy, ban on triple talaq, the minimum age for marriage of girls has been kept at 18 years. A provision has been made that old parents will also get a share in the property of the son. Registration has been made compulsory for the safety of girls in live-in relationships. Marriage registration has been made compulsory in every situation”:
— Professor Surekha Dangwal,
Member UCC Draft Committee
Dhami, referring to the live-in relationship case of 2022 of Shraddha Walkar and Aftab, and the way Shraddha’s body was cut into pieces and kept in a refridgerator, said that now no Aftab can kill a girl like Shraddha. Registration of live-in relationship has been made mandatory in UCC and the parents of the couple will be informed about it. He said that the government does not intend to end anyone’s privacy in this, we are only going to protect and safeguard the girls.
Dhami said that Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code is not against any religion, everyone will get equal rights. Nikah, Anand Karaj, Saat Phere will be the same as before. But the age of marriage has been made mandatory at 21 and 18 years for boys and girls respectively.
Key Points of the UCC rules
Scope – Applicable to the entire State of Uttarakhand, as well as residents of Uttarakhand living outside the State, except the Scheduled Tribes.
Authority – To implement UCC, SDM will be the Registrar and Gram Panchayat Development Officer will be the Sub Registrar in rural areas. Whereas in Nagar Panchayat and Municipalities, SDM will be the Registrar and Executive Officer will be the Sub Registrar.
Similarly, in the municipal corporation area, the Municipal Commissioner will be the Registrar and the Tax Inspector will be the Sub Registrar. In the cantonment area, the concerned Chief Executive Officer, Registrar and Resident Medical Officer or the officer authorized by the CEO will be the Sub Registrar. Above all these will be the Registrar General, who will be a secretary level officer and Inspector General of Registration.
Duties of the Registrar General
If the Registrar is unable to take action within the stipulated time, the matter will be auto forwarded to the Registrar General. Similarly, an appeal can be made to the Registrar General against the order of the Registrar or Sub-Registrar, who will dispose of the appeal and issue an order
within 60 days.
Duties of the Registrar
Appeal against the order of the sub-registrar will be decided within 60 days. Those violating live-in rules or marriage laws will be reported to the police.
Duties of Sub Registrar
Generally within 15 days and urgently within three days, all documents and information will be examined, a decision will be taken by seeking clarification from the applicant. Along with imposing penalty for not submitting the application on time or violating the rules, police will be informed and if the marriage information is not verified, parents or guardians will be informed about it.
Marriage Registration
- Marriages solemnised between March 26, 2010 and the date of implementation of the Code, must be registered within the next six months
- Marriages taking place after the implementation of the Code must be registered within 60 days from the date of marriage
Rights of applicants
- If the Sub Registrar-Registrar does not take action on time, a complaint can be filed online.
- An appeal against the rejection order of the Sub Registrar can be made to the Registrar within 30 days.
- An appeal against the rejection order of the Registrar can be made to the Registrar General within 30 days.
- Appeals can be filed through the online portal or app.
Live-in Relationship
The live-in relationships established before the implementation of the Code will have to be registered within one month from the date of implementation of the Code. Whereas the live-in relationships established after the implementation of the Code will have to be registered within one month from the date of entry into the live-in relationship.
Live-in termination
- One or both partners can terminate the live-in relationship online or offline. If only one partner applies, the registrar will accept it only after the confirmation of the other.
- If the woman becomes pregnant from the live-in relationship, then it is mandatory to inform the registrar. It has to be updated within 30 days of the birth of the child.
Divorce
While applying for divorce or annulment of marriage, details of marriage registration, decree of divorce or annulment of marriage, court case number, date of final order, details of children, copy of final court order.
Will-based succession
Will can be made in three ways – By filling a form on the portal, by uploading a handwritten or typed will or by uploading a three minute video of the will.
Journey of UCC in Uttarakhand
- May 27, 2022 – Expert Committee on UCC constituted
- February 2, 2024 – Detailed report on UCC submitted
- February 8, 2024 – Act approved by State Assembly
- March 8, 2024 – Act approved by President of Bharat
- March 12, 2024 – UCC Uttarakhand Act 2024 released
- October 18, 2024 – UCC Rules submitted/ presented
- January 27, 2025 – UCC implemented
Action plan for implementation of UCC
- Portal (ucc.uk.gov.in) developed for online application
- Common Service Centre (CSC) nominated as Training Partner
- Nodal officer nominated in districts for implementation and training
- Helpdesk (1800-180-2525) established for assistance and technical consultation
- District level officer appointed to resolve legal questions
- UCC workshops to be held in schools and colleges
He said that now there will be uniform rules and laws for divorce. That means the triple talaq system will not be applicable. An important amendment of Bharatiya Government made in the constitution is there in UCC as well. Second marriage in a relationship has been banned. Like a son, a daughter will also get equal rights in property. Now there will be no discrimination among children. The parents of the deceased will also get a share in their property so that their future can also be secure.
CM Dhami said that UCC is already applicable in Muslim countries, this system of equal rights is applicable in other countries as well. The constitution makers talked about implementing it in Bharat too, the Supreme Court also said so. UCC was a part of every resolution letter from Jan Sangh to BJP, which was implemented today under the guidance of PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
