The Aryavarth Express
Agency(Dehradun): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced the unanimous approval of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill by the state cabinet. The bill, which seeks to establish uniform civil laws for all communities in Uttarakhand, is slated to be tabled in the upcoming session of the Assembly.
This development follows the submission of a draft UCC report to Chief Minister Dhami by a five-member committee led by retired Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. The committee, which also included retired justice Pramod Kohli, social activist Manu Gaur, former Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Shatrughan Singh, and Vice Chancellor of Doon University, Surekha Dangwal, was granted four extensions to complete the draft.
The UCC aims to provide a unified legal framework across the state, encompassing laws related to marriage, divorce, land, property, and inheritance for all citizens, regardless of their religion. This initiative marks a significant step towards fulfilling a key promise made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to the electorate in the run-up to the 2022 Assembly polls.
Chief Minister Dhami elaborated on the extensive process undertaken to draft the UCC, which spans 740 pages across four volumes. The draft incorporates suggestions from 2,33,000 people across Uttarakhand, including input from families in the state’s last village, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to as the first village of India.
The decision to draft the UCC was made in the first meeting of Dhami’s second term in March 2022. Upon implementation, Uttarakhand will be the first Indian state post-independence to adopt the UCC, signaling a landmark moment in the state’s legislative history. This move is expected to generate significant discussion and debate in the legislative assembly and among the public.