Uttarakhand assembly passes Uniform Civil Code, Pushkar Singh Dhami says ‘law not against anyone’

Dehradun: The Uttarakhand Assembly on Wednesday passed the Uniform Civil Code bill, which seeks to replace religious personal laws that govern marriage, relationship and inheritance. Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had tabled the contentious legislation in the house on Tuesday.

With this, Uttarakhand has become the first state in India to have a law on the Uniform Civil Code.

Dhami said the draft of the bill was prepared in accordance with the Constitution.

"After independence, the makers of the Constitution gave the right under Article 44 that the states can also introduce the UCC at appropriate time... People have doubts regarding this. We made the draft as per the constitutional system," he said in the assembly.

The implementation of the Uniform Civil Code was the Bharatiya Janata Party's main promise in the 2022 Uttarakhand Assembly election's manifesto.

Dhami said the law will be implemented after the President's assent.

"This law is of equality, uniformity and equal rights. There were many doubts regarding this but the two-day discussion in the assembly clarified everything. This law is not against anyone. It is for the women who have to face difficulty because of the social norms... This will strengthen their self-confidence. This law is for the holistic development of women... The bill is passed... We will send it to the President. We will implement it in the state as a law, as soon as the President signs it," he said.

The Leader of Opposition Yashpal Arya said rules were not followed for the passage of the bill.

"Instead of presenting the draft, the Bill was directly presented. Discussions began within 2 hours. But we participated in the discussion on both days. Our MLAs gave suggestions and also raised some objections. Government was asked to rectify the loopholes...The only way to amend these loopholes was to send this to the Select Committee and after examining the draft, it be brought back to the House, discussions be held again and then it be given the form of a Bill," he said.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has promised that his state will be the second to implement the law.

Also read: 'Why Hindus kept out...': Asaduddin Owaisi slams Uttarakhand's Uniform Civil Code bill

What is Uniform Civil Code bill?

The bill seeks to make sweeping changes in the institution of marriage and relationships of such nature. The highlight of the legislation is that it makes it compulsory to register live-in relationships.

Per the bill, live-in relationships need to be registered within one month of the date of entering the relationship. Adults will be required to obtain consent from their parents.

The bill also imposes a complete ban on child marriage and introduces a uniform process for divorce. The Code provides equal rights to women of all religions in their ancestral property.

The bill has fixed the minimum age for marriage in all communities -- 18 for women, 21 for men.

Also read: UCC guarantees equal rights in marriage, bans polygamy

The registration of marriage is mandatory for all religions. Unions without registration will be deemed to be invalid.

Muslim bodies oppose bill

Leading Muslim bodies have opposed the code.

"Basically, there is no use of such a kind of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) when you are yourself saying that certain communities will be exempted from the Act. Then where is the uniformity? UCC means that the same laws should be implemented on each and every citizen of the state," Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali, executive committee member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board told PTI.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind said Muslims won't be able to compromise on Shariah.

"We cannot accept any law that is against Shariah because a Muslim can compromise with everything, but he or she can never compromise on Shariah and religion," said the body.

Also read: What is Uniform Civil Code? Constitutional provisions, arguments | Explained

Owaisi slams proposed UCC law

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said today that the Hindu undivided family has been kept out of the ambit of the bill.

"The Uttarakhand UCC Bill is nothing but a Hindu Code applicable for all. Firstly, Hindu undivided families have not been touched. Why? If you want a uniform law for succession and inheritance, why are Hindus kept out of it? Can a law be uniform if it doesn’t apply to the majority of your state?" he wrote on X.

He also took exception to the fact that the tribals were left out of the ambit of the bill.

He claimed the bill violates the rights of the Muslim community to practice religion and culture.

With inputs from ANI