Uttarakhand UCC Bill 2024: Impact, Provisions, and Significance

Uttarakhand UCC Bill 2024: Impact, Provisions, and Significance

Uttarakhand UCC Bill 2024

The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami recently  introduced the UCC bill in the assembly. It will be a huge step and will be life changing for the people of Uttarakhand. Let’s see what UCC is and how it will impact the citizens.

 

Chief minister of Uttarakhand Shri  Pushkar Singh Dhami  introduced a new bill in the assembly known as Uniform Civil Code, for the ratification and to make it an act in the state. This law will be applicable for all the citizens of Uttarakhand and it will replace all the religious or communal laws that were prevailing in the society. UCC has laws regarding marriage, divorce, land, and property, for everyone who lives in Uttarakhand, no matter what religion they follow, except for Scheduled Tribes.

 

This law was introduced in the assembly after much consideration. The discussion went in for four days and after that it became a full fledged law. This is a great initiative by the Uttarakhand government and a right step towards achieving the goal of equality before law. Moreover , it is a major initiative as Uttarakhand is the first state to introduce Uniform Civil Code in India. Soon other states will also follow the leads and do so. The main aim of UCC is to eliminate separate religious laws that govern the civil matters such as Marriage, Land , Divorce, Property and Inheritance. It is a great step as it tries to bridge the gap between various communities and govern them using single law regardless of their religious or cultural background.

 

 

 

What is the bill introduced in Uttarakhand?

On Tuesday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami introduced the Uniform Civil Code Bill in the state assembly. It has been named ‘Uniform Civil Code Uttarakhand 2024’. This 182-page legal draft has many sections and subsections. It mentions the rules and regulations regarding succession, marriage, divorce and live-in relationships. The Chief Minister said that Uttarakhand is the most suitable state in the country to implement Uniform Civil Code to eliminate evils. The purpose of this bill is to create a law that is applicable to all religions in matters related to marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption.

 

 

What is said about marriage in UCC?

Part 1 of the Bill deals with marriage and divorce. Whereas in Part-2, place has been given to marriage and divorce registration. Important provisions for this are: The Uniform Civil Code clearly defines the minimum age of marriage for all, wherein 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 for marrying the same man or another 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.

 

 

Other provisions of UCC Bill in Uttarakhand

So let’s Have a look at Other provisions also of the UCC Bill in Uttarakhand that are making the news.

  • There is a provision in this Act that for a couple living in a live-in relationship, the girl must be 18 years of age or more and she will have to get a registration done for the purpose of identification before living in a live-in relationship and must be less than 21 years of age. It will be mandatory for both the boy and girl to inform their parents about this registration.
  • There is a proposal in the bill to give equal inheritance rights to girls as to boys. Till now, in the personal law of many religions, boys and girls do not have equal inheritance rights.
  • Moreover , there is also a proposal  to keep 4% tribes of Uttarakhand out of the law. Population control measures and Scheduled Tribes have not been included in the draft.
  • A proposal has been made in the bill to make marriage registration mandatory. Besides, a proposal has also been made not to provide government facilities if marriage is not registered.
  • In the UCC Bill a proposal has been made to ease the process of child adoption. There is a proposal in the bill to give Muslim women the right to adopt children also.
  • A proposal to ban Halala and Iddat within the Muslim community has been placed in the bill. There has been a lot of opposition to this practice.

 

 

Why is the UCC Bill important ?

The UCC Bill is important to strengthen the ideas of equality and Justice. It is a great step towards strengthening the concept of Equality before law and equal law for everyone. As earlier every community had their own rules following which they operated some of these laws were derogatory and should not exist in the civilised society. Which is why the need  for the UCC Bill arises. A code that governs all the civil matters of citizens equally following the same set of rules for  everyone regardless of their caste , creed and religion. It is important to stop derogatory practices in the society that are continued under the guise of religious law.

 

So we have seen what is Uniform Civil Code and what are the provisions in the UCC Bill introduced in Uttarakhand and why it is important. Taking the heed of Uttarakhand soon other states will also introduce the UCC Bill and will try to transform the society for good. As UCC which was once a directive principles of State policies is now becoming a reality and will truly benefit yeh citizens of India. Moreover, The Uttarakhand UCC has also given due consideration to the tribes too so that their distinct culture remains preserved using their own community rules. So this was all about Uttarakhand UCC.

 

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FAQ’s:-

1. What is the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill introduced in Uttarakhand?
– The UCC Bill introduced in Uttarakhand by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami aims to establish a single set of laws applicable to all citizens, irrespective of their religious affiliations, governing matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption.

 

2. What are the key provisions of the UCC Bill regarding marriage and divorce?
– The UCC Bill mandates a minimum age for marriage, prohibits second marriages if the spouse is alive, and ensures that after divorce, women are not bound by any conditions for remarriage. Additionally, it regulates live-in relationships and marriage registrations.

 

3. How does the UCC Bill propose to address inheritance rights?
– The UCC Bill proposes to grant equal inheritance rights to girls as to boys, a departure from the previous laws where inheritance rights were unequal across genders in many religious personal laws.

 

4. Why is the UCC Bill considered important for Uttarakhand?
– The UCC Bill is crucial for promoting equality and justice by eliminating discriminatory practices embedded in religious laws. It aims to establish uniformity in civil matters, fostering social harmony and upholding the principle of equality before the law.

 

5. What measures does the UCC Bill take to preserve tribal culture?
– The UCC Bill includes provisions to exclude 4% of the tribes of Uttarakhand from its application to preserve their distinct cultural practices. This ensures that while promoting uniformity in civil laws, the unique cultural identities of tribal communities are respected and preserved.

 

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