Uttarakhand to implement Uniform Civil Code; Dhami govt forms 5-member drafting committee

In a big decision taken on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), the Uttarakhand government on Friday formed a drafting committee, in which five members have been included, and former judge Ranjana Desai has been made the chairman of the committee.

The five people included in the committee are - former Chief Secretary Shatrughan Singh, former judge Ranjana Desai who is appointed as the chairman of the committee, former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai, former High Court judge Pramod Kohli, social worker Manu Gaur, and Doon University Vice-Chancellor Surekha Dangwal.

This comes as Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the state would implement UCC. CM Dhami said, "Uttarakhand is the land of multiple gods and goddesses; the state also heavily contributes in terms of people serving the Armed forces. Thus there is a need for a common law for the people of Uttarakhand. As soon as the new government was formed, we took a decision that UCC will be implemented in the state. Thereby, Uttarakhand will be the second state to rollout UCC after Goa."

Uniform Civil Code in India

The Uniform Civil Code is a proposal in India to formulate and implement personal laws of citizens which apply to all citizens equally regardless of their religion, gender, and sexual orientation. It is pertinent to mention here that the BJP promised the implementation of UCC in its Lok Sabha election manifesto.

On 18 November 2021, the Allahabad High Court stressed that the Uniform Civil Code is mandatory. The single-judge bench of Justice Suneet Kumar was hearing a batch of 17 petitions pertaining to protection sought by interfaith couples. In one of these pleas, one of the parties said that they converted to the religion of his/her partner and thus apprehended a threat to their life, liberty and wellbeing.

While allowing the pleas, Justice Kumar observed that UCC cannot be made "purely voluntary" owing to fear expressed by members of the minority community.

Referring to a Supreme Court verdict, he asked the Centre to constitute a committee for implementing Article 44 of the Constitution. A part of the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution under Article 44 reads, "The state shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India."