The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill was passed in the Uttarakhand assembly by voice vote at around 6 pm yesterday on the 7th of February 2024. After the approval from the governor and President of India, the Uniform Civil Code bill will become a law.

After day-long discussions on the bill during which opposition members demanded to send the bill to a standing committee. Moreover, they demand that this committee examine certain provisions like registration of live-in relationships.

The ruling BJP has a clear majority in the assembly. It has 47 members. BJP also has the support of some independent MLAs. Therefore the BJP was sure to pass the uniform civil code bill.

Before that, the Uttarakhand government had constituted a committee of experts under the leadership of a retired Supreme Court judge in May 2022. The government issued a notification on 27 May 2022 and the terms were notified on 10 June 2022. On February 4, the Uniform Civil Code Bill was approved by the Uttarakhand Cabinet. After that the Uniform Civil Code Uttarakhand 2024′ bill was introduced in the Uttarakhand Assembly.

What is the Uniform Civil Code

The Uniform Civil Code aims to replace personal laws based on religion or community with a common set of civil laws governing matters like marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption. Furthermore, the uniform civil code bill passed in Uttarakhand has 7 schedules and 392 sections.

The Bill is divided into 13 Chapters, with each further divided into sections. Here’s a high-level overview of some key sections:

Preliminary:

In the first chapter of the Uniform Civil Code bill

• Section 1 defines the short title, commencement, and extent of the Bill.

Marriage and Matrimonial Remedies:

• Sections 3-9 deal with conditions for a valid marriage, void and voidable marriages, and registration of marriages.
• Sections 10-32 cover grounds for divorce, procedures, and related aspects.
• Section 33 addresses maintenance during legal proceedings.
• Section 34 specifies rights to permanent alimony and maintenance.

Adoption and Guardianship:

• Sections 35-42 layout rules for adoption, including conditions, procedures, and rights of adopted children.
• Sections 43-52 define guardianship principles and procedures.

Maintenance and Inheritance:

• Sections 53-67 establish rights to maintenance for various dependents.
• Sections 68-114 detail rules for inheritance, including property division among family members, bequests, and wills.

Incidental Proceedings:

• Sections 115-128 cover miscellaneous legal procedures related to the Bill’s implementation.

Savings and Repeals:

• Section 129 clarifies that existing personal laws based on religion or community will be saved for specified matters like religious customs and rituals.
• Sections 130-132 address repeals of conflicting provisions from other laws.

Important Note:

It’s crucial to remember that the Bill is still in its preliminary stages and details might change before becoming law. Moreover, the final structure and contents of the schedules and sections may differ from the current draft.

What does the Uttarakhand UCC Bill entail?

The bill applies to all citizens of Uttarakhand except the Scheduled Tribal group. It includes provisions for:

• Equal property rights for sons and daughters
• Elimination of distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children
• Equal property rights after death
• Registration of live-in relationships and rights for children born from them
• Ban on polygamy, Halala, and Iddat
• Uniform grounds for marriage and divorce

What about marriage in the Uniform Civil Code Bill?

Part 1 of the Bill deals with marriage and divorce. Whereas in Part 2, place has been given to marriage and divorce registration. Some laws allow polygamy. Since second marriage is a crime for Hindus, Christians and Parsis. Moreover, there is a provision of punishment of seven years. That’s why some people change religion to marry again. After the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), polygamy will be banned. Important provisions for this are:

The Uniform Civil Code clearly defines the minimum age of marriage for all, in which the age of the young man should not be less than 21 years and the age of the girl should not be less than 18 years.

In this code, the parties to marriage, i.e. between whom marriage can take place, have been clearly stated. Marriage can take place only between a man and a woman.

In this code, second marriage is completely prohibited if the husband or wife is alive.

Now, after divorce, a woman cannot be bound by any kind of conditions to marry the same man or any other man again. If any such matter comes to notice, then there is a provision of three years imprisonment or a fine of one lakh rupees or both.

After marriage, if any of the married couple changes religion without the consent of the other, then the other person will have full right to seek divorce and claim maintenance.

Registration is Mandatory

Registration of marriage will now be mandatory. To simplify this process, it will now be possible to register them at Gram Panchayat, Nagar Panchayat, Municipality, Municipal Corporation and district and state levels. To make the process easier, there will also be a web portal that can be visited to complete the registration process.

The religious/social rituals of marriage between a man and a woman have not been touched upon in this code. That is, whatever method those people have been using to get married, such as Saptapadi, Ashirwad, Nikah, Holy Union, Anand Karuj or other such traditions, they will be able to solemnize the marriage based on those prevalent traditions.

What is in the Uniform Civil Code about Divorce?

The government said in the Assembly that due to the non-implementation of the Uniform Civil Code, the mother power has suffered the most loss so far. Men took advantage of the weak laws and continued practicing polygamy, Uttak etc.

• Once the Uniform Civil Code is implemented, the cases pending in the court will also be resolved soon. The Uniform Civil Code will improve the condition of Muslim sisters. Muslim women will also get the right to adopt a child.
• All religions in the country have different personal laws. After the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code, there will be uniform laws for all religions. But apart from the points included in the Uniform Civil Code, the beliefs of any religion have not been tampered with.
• Many social evils flourish under the cover of religious customs. This includes slavery, devadasi, dowry, triple talaq, child marriage or other practices. The Uniform Civil Code guarantees the elimination of all these social evils.

What will be the rules regarding live-in relationships?

In the Assembly, the Chief Minister said that in a democratic country like India, the issue of live-in relationships is related to consent versus established social moral norms. Necessary laws have been made and protected to protect the rights of every citizen in the country, but a balance between rights and social order is also necessary. That is why the Government of Uttarakhand has recommended adopting a balanced approach to live-in relationships in the Uniform Civil Code.

There is a provision in this Act for a couple living in a live-in relationship. The girl must be 18 years of age or older. The boy’s age must be more than 21 years of age. Moreover, both will have to get a registration done for identification before living in a live-in relationship. It will be mandatory for both the boy and girl to inform their parents about this registration.

The Uttarakhand government has made registration mandatory in cases of live-in relationships so that such couples do not face any legal hurdles in getting a house on rent or other identification requirements.

What about Succession in the Uniform Civil Code Bill?

Presenting the bill in the Assembly, Chief Minister Dhami said that there has been a wide discrepancy or variation in the rights of succession to property or will in the effective and prevalent systems. For example, in most of the provisions, the mother, spouse and children have rights in the property of the deceased, but the father has not been given the right. Similarly, there is inequality based on gender among the children of the same person. Married and unmarried daughters also have different rights.

The Uniform Civil Code provides for a share in the property of the deceased to the parents. Its provision has been made in the Explanation of Section 49 and Category-1 of Schedule-2. Widespread inequality between sons and daughters in property rights is being removed.

This bill is to remove the differences in succession and daughter’s rights in the Hindu Succession Act, Indian Succession Act and Shariat Act. It provides equal rights to all the children of a person. After centuries, we are going to give concrete shape to the principle of equality between sons and daughters in the right to inherit property.

Rights of Children in the Uniform Civil Code

The Uniform Civil Code has served to secure children’s rights to dignity and property.

In the Uniform Civil Code, a child born out of any relationship has been defined in Section 3 (1-A). While on the other hand, in Section 49, children born in any manner are given equal rights in property.

The Uniform Civil Code is going to deprive the murdered son of his property rights. This provision has been made in Section 58 of the Code. Now a person will stay away from the heinous and heinous crime of murder to inherit property.

Section 3 (1-3), 3 (3-A) and Chapter 2 of the Uniform Civil Code provide that a person can voluntarily bequeath all the property acquired by any means to any person. Moreover, he can change the will during his lifetime or even take it back if he wishes.