Panel submits Uniform Civil Code draft to Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami

A special four-day session of the Uttarakhand assembly has already been convened from February 5-8 to pass a legislation on the UCC.

By: Express Web Desk

Updated: February 5, 2024 09:13 AM IST

3 min read

The UCC will provide a legal framework for a uniform marriage, divorce, land, property and inheritance laws for all citizens irrespective of their religion in the state. (Source: Uttarakhand government)

A state government-appointed panel to prepare a draft of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) on Friday submitted the document to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in Dehradun. A meeting of the state cabinet has been called on Saturday to discuss the draft. A special four-day session of the Uttarakhand assembly has already been convened from February 5-8 to pass a legislation on the UCC.

Soon after the submission of the UCC, Dhami said, “It is yet another step towards the fulfilment of a commitment made to the people of the state during the run-up to the assembly polls held in the state in 2022.” Dhami said his cabinet decided to constitute a committee to draft the UCC at its very first meeting after being elected for a second consecutive term in office.

The UCC will provide a legal framework for a uniform marriage, divorce, land, property and inheritance laws for all citizens irrespective of their religion in the state. If implemented, Uttarakhand will become the first state in India after Independence to adopt the UCC which has been operational in Goa since the days of the Portuguese rule.

“The long-awaited moment has arrived. The draft of UCC has now been submitted to us. We will examine, study and discuss it before tabling it in the state assembly to move in the direction of making it an act during its forthcoming session,” he said.

Retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai headed the committee and other members of the panel were retired chief justice of Sikkim High Court Pramod Kohli, social activist Manu Gaur, former Uttarakhand chief secretary Shatrughan Singh and Vice Chancellor of Doon University Surekha Dangwal. The panel was constituted in May, 2022 to prepare a draft of the UCC and was given four extensions to look into all aspects before finalising its report. It received 2.33 lakh written suggestions and held more than 60 meetings in which the members interacted with around 60,000 people in the course of preparing the draft.

“The panel, which consists of erudite people, held a comprehensive dialogue with people representing different sections of the society, including the tribal people of the country’s first village of Mana, before finalising the draft,” CM Dhami said.

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