The Uniform Civil Code bill is scheduled to be tabled in the Uttarakhand Assembly on Tuesday, on the second day of the special assembly convened to enact the legislation. If passed by the House, the BJP-ruled state will become the first in the country to adopt the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
The state cabinet, on Sunday, led by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, cleared the UCC bill intending to establish a common set of personal laws for all citizens, regardless of their religion, gender, or sexual orientation.
The UCC bill will be tabled by Chief Minister Dhami when the session recommences at 11:00 am.
According to sources, some of the key features of the UCC bill to be tabled today aim to ensure equal property rights for sons and daughters, elimination of the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, inclusivity of adopted and biologically born children, and equal property rights after death.
Other major possible recommendations include a complete ban on polygamy and child marriage, a common marriageable age for girls across all faiths, and enforcing similar grounds and procedures for divorce.
The final draft of the Uniform Civil Code, running into 740 pages in four volumes, was submitted on February 2 to Chief Minister Dhami by a five-member panel headed by retired judge of the Supreme Court Ranjana Prakash Desai. Upon receiving the draft and initiating the process of legislation, the Chief Minister said earlier that the “long-awaited moment has arrived”.
The UCC panel received 2.33 lakh written suggestions online and held more than 70 meetings in which the members interacted with around 60,000 people in the course of preparing the draft.
As the special session to pass the bill, which will continue until February 8, gets underway, security has been stepped up around the Assembly premises.
