THE GUJARAT Assembly on Tuesday passed the Gujarat Uniform Civil Code Bill by a majority vote, to bring an uniform civil code in the state.
The Bill was passed in the state Assembly amid protests by Opposition parties even as the members of the main opposition party Congress staged a walkout from the House before its passage. As many as 16 members of the Gujarat Assembly spoke on the Bill that was passed after a marathon discussion that lasted nearly eight hours.
The lone Muslim MLA from the Congress, Imran Khedawala, in the house of 182 members, opposed it saying it would distance Muslims from Shariat Law and make them “atheists”.
With this, Gujarat has become the second state in the country, after Uttarakhand, to have passed a Bill to bring in an uniform civil code.
The Bill, largely based on the Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand, seeks to regulate personal civil matters of the residents of Gujarat such as marriage, divorce, succession, adoption and related civil affairs including live-in relationships. It has been brought in by the state government after a committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai submitted a report recently.
Apart from the landmark Shah Bano case and other laws related to marriages and divorce of Muslims, Christians and Parsis, the Committee under Justice (retd) Desai also studied the civil codes of France, Azerbaijan, Nepal, Germany and Turkey, according to a statement by the state government.
Presenting the Bill, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said, “Now, the implementation of the UCC will reject any policy or custom of division or discrimination among citizens based on their religion or caste. This Uniform Civil Code will apply to everyone, regardless of religion or specific individual identity… In other aspects of the UCC as well, the principles of equality and equitable justice have been adopted. In that sense, this is a Bill that reflects the expectations, aspirations, and desires of the citizens of Gujarat for equal justice.”
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Terming it “historic” in a post on X, the CM called it a “gift to the sisters and daughters of the state from Dada (a moniker used for him).”
“In this draft, special priority has been given to the equal rights and security of women. This demonstrates how deeply concerned this government is regarding the protection of women’s rights and entitlements,” CM Patel added.
Presenting the Bill, the CM also highlighted some of the penal provisions in it for violation that includes imprisonment of various periods. He said that if a case pertains to a live-in relationship with a minor girl, there is a provision under POCSO Act.
The CM also said, “In changing times, to save our girls from cases such as Shradhha Walkar is part of our duty and the provision for live-in relationships is not for taking away anybody’s freedom, but for legal security of daughters. For those who do marriages while concealing their identity or do fraud, there is no place in Gujarat.”
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He also sought to clarify certain “misunderstandings” prevailing in some communities about the Bill and said, “Marriage with a cousin is an accepted tradition within the minority community, and it is clear in the Bill that if a community’s tradition allows such marriages, they will be considered legal.”
He also highlighted that the Bill will not be applicable to members of all the tribal communities falling within the constitutional provisions.
“This law is only to remove discrimination and not to remove cultures,” the CM said.
He added that the Bill has been drafted while considering the suggestions and opinions given by people across the state, various decisions of the high courts and the Supreme Court, and model laws of other countries of the world.
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The Opposition Congress put forth strong objections to the Bill.
Senior Congress legislator Amit Chavda alleged that the state government brought the Bill “in a hurry, with political intentions while keeping in mind coming elections in the state.”
He said, “When certain communities have been excluded from this Bill, how can it be called a common civil code?”
Chavda also said that before bringing the Bill, the government should have made the Ranjana Desai Committee’s report public.
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Congress MLA Imran Khedawala strongly opposed the Bill and said, “I oppose the Bill on behalf of the entire Muslim community of Gujarat.”
He said that with this Bill, Muslims could be separated from Shariat Law and this would make them “atheist”.
Congress leader Shailesh Parmar too opposed the Bill, and all the Congress MLAs demanded to send it to a select committee before passage.
Speaking on the Bill, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi too strongly defended it, while calling it “historic”. Sanghavi said the UCC was part of the BJP’s promise and they have fulfilled it. He said countries such as France, Germany, Turkey, Nepal and Azerbaijan etc also have common civil codes. He added that the Ranjana Desai committee had received over 20 lakh suggestions before drafting the Bill.
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As the Bill was put to vote, Congress MLAs demanded that it be sent to a select committee. As the demand was not approved, the three Congress MLAs present – Tushar Chaudhary, Shailesh Parmar and Anant Patel – walked out.
AAP MLA Chaitar Vasava “thanked’ the government, noting that people of Scheduled Tribe communities have been excluded from the Bill .
