Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand passed by President Murmu, becomes law

The Uniform Civil Code Bill 2024, which was passed by the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly, received President Droupadi Murmu’s assent and will be implemented in the state. Uttarakhand is the first state in the country after Independence to adopt the Uniform Civil Code law. It was a long-standing promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its government in Uttarakhand.

On February 7, the Bill was passed by a voice vote in the Uttarakhand Assembly at the end of a two-day special session.

“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,” the state government said in a gazette issued on Wednesday.

According to the UCC in Uttarakhand, live-in partners withhold information or give a false statement in their undertaking, they can face jail of up to three months and a fine not exceeding Rs 25,000 or both.

Even a delay in registration, by as little as a month, will trigger a jail term of up to three months, a fine of Rs 10,000, or both.

As per the proposed UCC, statements of live-in partners will be forwarded to the officer in charge of a local police station, which will be informed by the authorities if the details provided in the statement turn out to be incorrect.

The Uttarakhand UCC says that a woman who has been deserted in a live-in relationship can approach the court and is entitled to claim maintenance.

A child in a live-in relationship will be declared the legitimate child of the couple under the UCC provisions.

(With PTI inputs)