Uttarakhand panel frames UCC rules, to allow digital registration of marriages and live-in relationships

Website and mobile app ready, report to be sent to CM for implementation

Digital facilities for marriage and live-in registrations, for will documentation and for modifications – these are among the recommendations of the committee framing rules for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttarakhand that held its final meeting on Monday.

The Rules Making & Implementation Committee, which along with its sub-committees has held over 130 meetings since it was set up in February, has framed a 500-page report, members of the panel said, and will submit it to the state government soon.

Shatrughan Singh, a retired IAS officer and the head of the committee, said they have recommended that the authority concerned for marriage registration be a sub-registrar or village panchayat development officer responsible for birth and death registration in villages.

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Sources said the report being prepared by the committee will contain implementation rules regarding the UCC as well as a detailed account of the rule-making process that has involved both legal experts and law interns. With the BJP intending to use the Uttarakhand UCC as a role model for other states, the rules template has been framed keeping this in mind.

Also read | Before Uttarakhand brought Uniform Civil Code, panel worked to find balance between gender equality and customs

A website and mobile app for digital documentation are already ready, panel members said, and will be connected to relevant government websites and databases. They will be in functional mode once the UCC has been implemented.

Singh said that at Monday’s meeting, the final details were chalked out, and the report – “prepared ahead of schedule” – would soon be sent to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

Earlier, Dhami had announced plans to have the UCC in place before November 9, coinciding with the state’s 24th foundation day.

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Singh said that one of their main recommendations is to allow people to get their marriage and live-in relationship registration, among other things, digitally. “For those not digitally very literate, we have proposed taking help of the Common Service Centres. We have talked to CSC representatives at both Central and state levels,” he said, adding that the authorities were looking for a secure host to ensure the safety of data.

The Uttarakhand Assembly passed the UCC Bill in February this year, which covers laws related to marriage, divorce, succession, and live-in relationships. Following this, the Rules Making & Implementation Committee was set up to define how the provisions of the UCC would be implemented.

Headed by Singh, the committee includes, among others, Uttarakhand Police ADG (Administration) Amit Sinha and Uttarakhand Resident Commissioner Ajay Mishra.