Dehradun: A panel of five members, appointed by the government and led by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai has submitted a draft of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for Uttarakhand. The draft spans across four volumes. Comprises 749 pages containing several important recommendations such as a complete ban on polygamy and child marriage.
The key proposals put forward in the UCC draft include establishing a minimum age for girls to marry regardless of their religious beliefs ensuring equal rights of inheritance for both boys and girls and implementing common grounds and procedures for divorce. The panel also emphasizes the need for marriage registration stating that couples who fail to register their marriages will be ineligible to avail government benefits.
Uttarakhands Chief Minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami received the draft on Friday. Announced that it will undergo thorough examination and discussion before being presented in the assembly on February 6. A special four day session has been scheduled from February 5 8 to deliberate upon and pass legislation regarding the UCC.
If adopted Uttarakhand will become the state in India after Independence to implement a Uniform Civil Code—a legal framework that encompasses marriage, divorce, land ownership, property rights and inheritance laws applicable to all citizens irrespective of their religious affiliations.
The draft also proposes granting adoption rights to everyone while simplifying adoption procedures specifically for women. Additionally it recommends prohibiting practices like halala (a practice associated with divorce) and iddat (a waiting period, after divorce).Furthermore the UCC suggests that it should be mandatory to register in relationships in a legal format.
However the proposed draft does not address population control measures. It exempts Scheduled Tribes, who make up 3% of Uttarakhands population.
The specific details of the draft remain undisclosed to the public. Officials confirm that it will only be revealed after its presentation in the assembly. Among recommendations the UCC draft includes guidelines for common grounds for divorce requires court proceedings with a six month cooling off period for all divorces and simplifies procedures related to child custody and guardianship of orphaned children.
The draft also highlights responsibility by stating that if the sole breadwinner passes away compensation given to the surviving spouse should cover provisions for the deceased persons parents. Similarly if a wife passes away and her parents need care it becomes the husbands responsibility to provide support even if she has remarried. This necessitates sharing compensation, with the wifes parents.
—Input from Agencies