Uttarakhand: Panel Completes Drafting Of Proposed UCC, Report To Be Submitted To Dhami Govt Soon

The drafting of the proposed Uniform Civil Code for Uttarakhand has been completed and the report will soon be submitted to the state government, the Committee appointed to draft the UCC said on Saturday (30 June).

Implementation of a Uniform Civil Code was one of the major poll promises made by the BJP in run-up to the Uttarakhand assembly elections in 2022, if voted back to power in the state.

After the party won the elections, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami formed the five-member committee headed by former SC judge justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, days after taking oath in May last year.

Earlier on Tuesday (27 June), Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh said that the Uniform Civil Code will be implemented in the state soon.

He added that the UCC will be implemented soon after the final draft of the Code is submitted by the state government-appointed committee.

The Uttarakhand UCC panel in its report is likely to suggest raising the marriageable age of girls.

Further, the committee led by former Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Desai is reportedly also considering banning the traditions like 'halala' and 'iddat'.

One of the crucial suggestions received by the committee pertains to compensation for the parents of an employed son in the event of his untimely demise, even if his wife chooses to remarry.

Shatrughan Singh, a member of the Uttarakhand's UCC drafting committee and former IAS officer, shed light on the discussions taking place.

"The committee has also received suggestions that in case of death of an employed son, his parents are eligible for compensation apart from his wife.  Even if the wife re-marries, then also they should have a share in the compensation received on the death of the husband," Singh was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express.

“In such a case, if the wife dies, her parents have no support, and then the responsibility of their maintenance should be with the husband. The committee is also brainstorming on all these suggestions,” he added.

According to media reports, the suggestions received by the UCC panel includes ban on polygamy, declaration of Live-In relationship and parents informed, girls to get equal share in ancestral property, adoption for all, and application of equal grounds for divorce to both husband and wife.