Even before it was passed by the state assembly in February 2024, it had been apparent that Section 378 of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttarakhand, which sets the terms for live-in relationships for those in and from the state, is a solution in search of a problem. Now, a 16-page form that requires, among other things, proof of previous relationships and a clearance certificate on marriage eligibility from a religious leader, and involves the prospect of a jail term for failure to register the initiation or termination of a live-in relationship shows the alarming extent of state intrusion into the most intimate corners of citizens’ personal lives. In its imposition of a patriarchal, cookie-cutter understanding of relationships, it infantilises consenting adults and yokes their choices, freedoms and privacy to a state-determined notion of acceptability.
Along with the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and the abrogation of Article 370, the UCC has been a core plank of BJP politics. In December 2024, Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the UCC would be implemented in all BJP-ruled states. There has already been a reiteration of similar intent in Rajasthan. But in a country as diverse — and as fractured — as India, such an exercise needs thought and empathy, not a top-down imposition that brushes aside all concerns of minorities. At the launch of the UCC portal this week, Uttarakhand Chief Minister said that the provisions for live-in relationships were meant for protection, not intrusion: “Through UCC, we aim to ensure that an Aaftab never commits brutality against our daughters or sisters like Shraddha Walkar,” referring to the 2022 murder of a young woman by her partner in Delhi. It is a flawed and illogical argument. Hard cases make for bad laws.
