Uttarakhand is all set to become the second Indian state and the first after independence to have a Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
The Uttarakhand Cabinet approved the final draft of the UCC, which proposes uniform civil laws for all communities in the state and will be tabled in the legislative assembly on Tuesday.
The UCC will provide a legal framework for uniform marriage, divorce, land, property, and inheritance laws for all citizens, irrespective of their religion.
The UCC drafting panel also comprised retired justice Pramod Kohli, social activist Manu Gaur, former Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Shatrughan Singh, and Vice Chancellor of Doon University, Surekha Dangwal. The drafting panel was given a total of four extensions.
The passage of the UCC Bill will mark the fulfillment of a major promise made by the BJP to the people of the state in the run-up to the 2022 Assembly polls.
Some of the key features proposed in the Uttarakhand UCC bill include:?
Uttarakhand will join Goa as the only state with an operational UCC.
So far Goa has been the only state in India which had a uniform civil code regardless of religion, gender and caste. The Portuguese Civil Code is a legacy of its colonial past and has been in place since 1867.
The Union Government has also proposed to implement a Uniform Civil Code across the country.
Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said that the Uniform Civil Code is in the consultation process and being reviewed by the Law Commission of India.
"This is not just the issue of the Centre; the makers of the Constitution had discussed this even when the Constitution was being made...Right now, this matter is under consideration with the Law Commission of India and is in the consultation process. The states can fix it or improve it, and the government of Goa has already worked on UCC," Meghwal said.
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