Uttarakhand became the first Indian State to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) on 27 January 2025. Earlier the State of Goa had implemented and is in force, the partial UCC concerning marriage, divorce and succession matters. In Uttarakhand, all necessary preparations for the UCC’s implementation have been completed, including the approval of its rules and training of relevant officials. The CM of the State claimed that UCC will promote societal uniformity, ensuring equal rights and responsibilities for all citizens. The CM claimed that implementing the UCC will strengthen women’s empowerment and “put an end to ‘halala’ and ‘iddat’.”
Key Highlights of Uttarakhand UCC
- For men, the legal age of marriage is 21, and for women, it is 18. Both men and women should not have any living spouse at that time. Also, both partners should be mentally fit.
- It will be unlawful to marry in certain situations, such as involving the father, mother, grandfather and grandmother’s direct relatives.
- All marriages must be legally recognized within sixty days. If false information is provided on the marriage registration, the applicant will be jailed for three months and fined Rs 25,000. The applicant will also have to pay a Rs 10,000 fine if the marriage is not registered.
- Without a court order, a marriage can not be dissolved and the offender will be sentenced tothre years. Whereas, if a marriage is performed outside of the terms outlined under UCC, there could be six month jail and a fine of up to Rs 50,000.
- The decree must be issued within sixty days of the divorce plea being filed in one of the designated courts. Maintenance and alimony will be payable both men and women, as the case may be. Also, the High Court allows appeals in cases where family court orders are issued without consent.
- Every live-in relationship must register with the registering authority that law notifies. Live-in partnerships that fall under forbidden categories or in which one partner is married will not be permitted. Children from living couples are entitled to all legal protection.
- If the live-in arrangement is terminated, the registrar must be notified; following that, the other partner will be notified. If a guy in a live-in relationship flees, he will be responsible for the women’s maintenance, as determined by the appropriate authorities.
- An equal portion of the property will go to the deceased person’s immediate family if there is no registered will. The property would be equally divided among the second line, which would be the deceased person’s immediate first cousins on the paternal side if there are no immediate relatives. Others would be invited to stake acclaim to the property if there is no claimant.
- Equal property rights will be granted to sons and daughters, and the law includes specific safeguards for the Hindu United Family (HUF). The State government will designate a decision-maker to determine how the property will be divided between claimants.
- No discrimination between legitimate and illegitimate children regarding property rights.
- Children born of live-in relationships will have equal property rights.
Presently, while there is a uniform criminal law, civil laws differ significantly among various religious groups. The tribal communities are exempt from UCC provisions, although the future of traditional partnership practices remain uncertain. The introduction of general legal framework raises questions about balancing modern legal frameworks with the preservation of cultural practices among these communities.
In Uttarakhand certain tribal communities practice polyandry and polygamy, respectively. Despite economic challenges, these tribes have preserved their traditional lifestyles and crafts, passing skils down through generations.
In a strong reaction against the implementation of the UCC, many Muslim organizations have come out openly against UCC, and many have stated that they are prepared to take legal action against this move.
I do not know what will the outcome of court cases against Uttarakhand’s implementation of the UCC, but I still remember few years back the Supreme Court (SC) reprimanded the Central Government, why they are delaying the UCC across the country. After that the Central govt framed the guidelines for the UCC, and asked the States and UTs to enact the UCC after getting it passed from their respective assemblies. Now the problem is, as this UCC is BJP’s child, so the opposition ruled States/UTs are delaying the introduction of the UCC in their respective assemblies.
It is well known fact that Muslim organizations are opposing the UCC after the independence, although it is very clear in the Constitution that the country should have UCC. But the successive Congress governments at the Centre appeased the Muslim community and never talked about bringing UCC in the country. Now the situation in the country is such that Muslim community wants to follow Indian Common Criminal laws, but for the personal laws they want to follow their Sharia law and not UCC, but they do not want to follow Sharia criminal law. Which is not justifiable anywhere, they have to decide whether they want to follow Sharia for personal laws and criminal laws OR they want to abide by Indian Constitution. This will be big test for all the political parties.
Waiting for your comments/feedback on this blog.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
28th January 2025