President Murmu approves Uttarakhand UCC Bill, CM Dhami says ‘moment of great joy and pride for all’

“Under Article 201 of the ‘Constitution of India’, the President gave assent to the ‘Uniform Civil Code Uttarakhand 2024’ Bill passed by the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly, on 11 March 2024, and it is published as Act Number 3, the year 2024, of Uttarakhand for general information,” said the state government in a gazette issued on Wednesday.

After the Bill was passed, the state government formed a Rules Making and Implementation Committee headed by retired IAS officer and UCC draft committee member Shatrughan Singh. Other members of the draft committee, Surekha Dangwal and Manu Gaur, along with Uttarakhand Police ADG (Administration) Amit Sinha and Uttarakhand Resident Commissioner Ajay Mishra make up the rules committee.

While the Bill only defines the provisions and sections of the UCC, rules made by the committee will define in detail how the sections will be implemented.

On February 24, the Rules Making and Implementation Committee had its first meeting, during which it formed a sub-committee to simplify the registration process for live-in relationships and marriages by offering services online. In its first meeting, the committee also formed two other sub-committees—one to make the rules for implementing the UCC and the other to train government officials regarding the implementation.

The official notification of the Act will be issued once the Rules Making and Implementation Committee formulates the rules.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami called it a moment of great pride and joy and said that as per Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision, his government was determined to protect the interests of citizens and maintain Uttarakhand’s original nature.

“It is a moment of great joy and pride for all the people of the state that the UCC Bill passed by our government in the Uttarakhand Assembly has been approved by the respected President Draupadi Murmu ji today. Certainly, with the implementation of the UCC in the state, along with providing equal rights to all citizens, the oppression of women will also be curbed. #UniformCivilCode will play an important role in promoting harmony by proving the importance of social equality in the state,” he wrote on the X website.