Everything You should know about Uniform Civil Code (UCC)

UCC final draft

The final draft report of the Uniform Civil Code for Uttarakhand was on Friday handed over to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami by the five-member panel constituted for the task. It was discussed and passed in the state cabinet meeting today.

Aim of UCC

UCC aims to create a set of laws that is uniform, so as to replace the distinct personal laws of religion related to subjects like marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption, among others.

Origination

It stems from Article 44 of the Constitution, where it it mandated that the state shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.

What the UCC draft contains

The UCC draft includes different facets of civilian life as recommendations include mandatory marriage registration, an extension of inheritance rights, as well as increasing the marriageable age for girls and facilitating girls pursuit of education before their marriage.

How long the process took?

The state government had on May 27, 2022 constituted the panel, which formed two sub-committees to invite peoples opinions. In total, 43 interactions took place and the panel received suggestions from 2.3 lakh people, equivalent to ten per cent families in Uttarakhand. Apart from this, 72 meetings took place to discuss the points that would go into the final draft.

What is the need of UCC?

The enforcement of UCC would help narrow down the religious divide in a country like India where people of different religions reside.

Challenges

The core issues which UCC shall attract are the Personal Laws including marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption. The diversity in culture of the country has consequently also made Personal Laws a complex net.