Uttarakhand Govt likely to convene special Assembly session to table draft UCC Bill

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 11

The Uttarakhand Government is likely to hold a special session of the state Assembly, apparently later this month, to table the uniform civil code (UCC) Bill, which is learnt to have proposed a complete ban on polygamy while including a provision for live-in couples to register their relationship.

Wide consultations

• The draft has been prepared by a committee, whose tenure was extended for the third time recently till December
• It has taken suggestions from 2.33 lakh people and different organisations, institutions and tribal groups before preparing the draft

It is also learnt to have a provision calling for equal inheritance rights for both son and daughter.

According to sources, the draft Bill may be presented during a special Assembly session, which is likely to be convened in the week immediately after Diwali.

A draft was prepared earlier this year by a committee led by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai, which was set up by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami soon after the BJP formed the government in the state in March 2022. The committee had taken the opinion of a large cross-section of people before preparing a draft Bill.

The UCC refers to a common set of laws that are applicable to all citizens of India and is not based on religion in dealing with marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption, among other personal matters.

The BJP had made UCC implementation in Uttarakhand a poll plank during the Assembly elections last year, and soon after the BJP returned to power for a second consecutive term, Dhami formed the panel to draft the Bill in his very first Cabinet meeting.

The expert panel, whose tenure was extended for the third time recently till December 2023, has taken opinions from 2.33 lakh people and different organisations, institutions and tribal groups before preparing the draft. The five-member committee received its first extension of six months in November 2022 and second in May this year.

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