Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday declared that his state will implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) before Foundation Day (November 9).
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The UCC Bill was introduced in the state legislative assembly on February 6 and was passed on February 7 during a special session of the Uttarakhand assembly, which according to Dhami is a “historic day in the history of Uttarakhand”.
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UCC Bill was proposed in India to establish uniform rules for personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and property rights applying to all citizens equally irrespective of their religion, gender or sexual orientation.
On February 29, Uttarakhand Governor Gurmit Singh referred the bill sent by the state government to President Murmu for her approval, which she approved on March 13, making Uttarakhand the first state in the country to implement the UCC.
The proposed law has 392 sections divided into four parts and seven chapters providing equal rights to women in marriage, divorce, alimony and inheritance of property, proscribes certain kinds of relationships, bans polygamy, sets the marriageable age for men and women (21 years and 18 years respectively), and makes registration of marriages mandatory. The state's Scheduled Tribe population which comprises 2.89 per cent of the population are exempted from this law, reported HT.
{{/usCountry}}The proposed law has 392 sections divided into four parts and seven chapters providing equal rights to women in marriage, divorce, alimony and inheritance of property, proscribes certain kinds of relationships, bans polygamy, sets the marriageable age for men and women (21 years and 18 years respectively), and makes registration of marriages mandatory. The state's Scheduled Tribe population which comprises 2.89 per cent of the population are exempted from this law, reported HT.
{{/usCountry}}According to the UCC, not registering a live-in relationship could result in imprisonment for three months and a fine of ₹10,000 or both as well.
Dhami also spoke about efforts being made to balance development and environment and the state's progress towards the direction of the Gross Environment Product (GEP). "Work is being done in the state by balancing development and environment. The state has moved forward in the direction of Gross Environment Product (GEP)," he said.
(With inputs from ANI)