Table of Contents
Introduction
The Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand, 2024 (“UCC”) passed by the Legislative Assembly of Uttarakhand has brought substantial changes to the law of inheritance of property i.e., succession law. The Code will apply to all persons irrespective of their religion. and also bring together personal laws related to marriage, divorce, inheritance, and other familial matters across all religious communities.
What is the Uniform Civil Code (UCC)?
Different communities have laws governing marriage, inheritance, and adoption based on their religious texts and customs. The UCC wants to replace this diverse system of personal laws based on different religions’ teachings and traditions in India with a unified code.
This would mean that instead of different laws governing individuals based on their religion, there would be one set of rules for all Indian citizens, regardless of their religion. So far, there’s another state that had UCC, which was enacted by the Portuguese in 1867.
Also, Read Uttarakhand to implement Uniform Civil Code
Uttarakhand’s UCC is in the News?
According to the Constitution’s Seventh Schedule, both the central government and state legislatures have the authority to make laws about family matters. Using this authority, the Government of Uttarakhand introduced its own Uniform Civil Code in the State Assembly. This draft of the UCC was presented to Mr Pushkar Singh Dhami, CM of Uttarakhand, by a five-member committee led by retired Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai.
The Uniform Civil Code Bill has been passed by the Uttarakhand Assembly. Once the Bill gets the Governor’s consent, Uttarakhand will be the first state since independence to have a single law that applies to all residents of Uttarakhand, regardless of their religion, covering marriage, divorce, land, property, and inheritance.
The Uttarakhand’s UCC focuses on gender equality by treating men and women equally in matters such as inheritance and marriage.
Is UCC mentioned in the Constitution?
The Uniform Civil Code is a proposed directive principle given under Article 44 of the Directive Principles of State Policy as “The State shall endeavor to secure the citizen a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India”.
Article 44 says that the state “shall endeavor to secure” a UCC. This means it’s not mandatory, but the government is encouraged to work towards it.
Highlights
- Equal Property Rights For Sons And Daughters
The bill makes sure that both sons and daughters have the same rights to inherit property. This means that whether a family has a son or a daughter, they are treated fairly when it comes to getting what they should inherit from the family.
- Legal age of marriage for Men and Women
As per the Bill marriageable age for men is 21 and for women is 18. The Bill retains the “custom” exception from the Hindu Marriage Act for married parties within the “degrees of prohibited relationships”.
- Ending The Difference Between Legitimate And Illegitimate Child
The bill aims to abolish the difference between children who are born within marriage and those born outside of it when it comes to inheriting property. All children, regardless of how they were born, should be seen as the real children of their parents.
- Prohibition on Polygamy
In Section 4 of the Bill, a man or a woman can get married when “Neither person can already be married when they want to get married again,” which means they can’t have two spouses at the same time.
- Inclusion Of Adopted And Biologically Children
The UCC bill treats all children equally, whether they’re adopted, born through surrogacy, or born with the help of assisted reproductive technology, like in vitro fertilization (IVF). This means that regardless of how they came into the family, they have the same rights and are treated like biological children.
- Complete Ban On Child Marriage
Another important provision in the UCC is that it strictly prohibits child marriage, regardless of someone’s religion. This means that no matter what faith someone follows, they cannot legally get married if they’re still a child.
- Registration Of Live-In Relationships
The Bill requires couples living together in Uttarakhand to inform the authorities about their live-in relationship within the state. If they don’t, they could be punished with up to three months in jail or a fine of up to Rs 10,000, or both.
- Children Born Of Live-In Relationships Will Be Considered Legitimate
Notably, the Bill clarifies that all children born out of void and voidable marriages and live-in relationships will be deemed legitimate and will have the same rights as children born within wedlock.
- Ban Practices such as Halala, Iddat, and Triple Talaq
The UCC recommends strong punishments for practices like triple talaq, iddat, and halala, which relate to marriage and divorce in Muslim personal law.