Uniform Civil Code Draft Ready, Will Be Submitted Very Soon: Uttarakhand Panel

A day after Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced that a Uniform Civil Code will be implemented in the state at the earliest, the committee tasked with framing a draft bill said today that the draft is ready and will be submitted to the government “very soon”. 

The committee, which was set up by the Uttarakhand government last year, said the bill will strengthen the secular fabric of the country. 

Former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, who heads the committee said marriage acts of various religions, prevalent personal laws, Law Commission reports and uncodified issues have all been studied and considered. “The draft bill is being printed and will be handed over to the government very soon. The bill will strengthen the secular fabric of this country,” Ms Desai said. 

Ms Desai said the committee received overwhelming support – and some opposition – and added that the members of the panel were unanimous on every point. The panel said it received over 2.3 lakh suggestions and met over 20,000 people, representatives of political parties, and leaders and people from different religions.

Yesterday, Mr Dhami had tweeted, “Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is going to be implemented soon in Uttarakhand, the law will be the same for all!”  Sources say the bill is likely to be tabled in the state assembly in the monsoon session, which will begin next month. 

Addressing a gathering of BJP workers in Bhopal on Tuesday, PM Narendra Modi had made a big push for a Uniform Civil Code and said the country couldn’t run on two laws, much like it didn’t work to have “different set of rules for different members of a family”.

The Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Trinamool Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal United and several other parties have accused the BJP of using the issue to get votes ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The Aam Aadmi Party, however, extended its “in-principle support” to a Uniform Civil Code, but said it should be tabled after extensive consultations with stakeholders.