Dhami says UCC in Uttarakhand meant for equality for all

Dehradun: The final draft of rules and regulations for the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand was submitted to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday.

The nine-member government appointed committee headed by former chief secretary Shatrughna Singh handed over the document to Dhami at the secretariat.

Talking to reporters soon after receiving the draft, the chief minister said its objective is to give equal treatment to every section of society and empower women.

Submission of the draft on UCC to the state government paves the way for its implementation in Uttarakhand.

The state government will now study the draft and bring it before the cabinet. The UCC will be brought into force after being cleared by the cabinet.

Once implemented, Uttarakhand will become the first state in Independent India to implement the law.

The draft of rules is divided into four parts -- laying down procedures to be followed for registration of marriage and divorce, succession, live-in relationships and birth and death, Dhami said. "It (UCC) is not being brought to target any section. It is for the equality for all and security and empowerment of women," he told reporters.

The UCC will soon be implemented after discussion with the state cabinet, he said.

"We will go through it, examine its legal and other aspects, bring it before the cabinet to discuss it in detail and implement it," the chief minister said. Officials and employees to be involved in the process of its implementation will also need to be trained, he said.

The proposed rules include creation of online facilities for the mandatory registration of marriages, divorces, and live-in relationships so that people do not have to run to government offices, Dhami said.

UCC in Uttarakhand is meant to govern and regulate the laws relating to marriage and divorce, succession, live-in relationships and related matters. Several BJP-governed states have expressed their intention to adopt it as a model. Implementation of the UCC was a major poll promise made by CM Dhami in the 2022 assembly elections.

When the BJP stormed to power in the state for a second consecutive term with a massive win in 2022, Dhami said it was a mandate for the implementation of the UCC.

In a bid to fulfil his promise soon after assuming office for a second time as the chief minister, Dhami constituted a committee chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai to prepare a draft of the UCC on May 27, 2022.

The panel of which Shatrughna Singh was also a part submitted its draft to the state government on February 2 this year.

A special session of the state assembly was summoned soon after that to pass a legislation on the UCC on February 7.

President Droupadi Murmu gave her ascent to the legislation in March.

A panel headed by Singh was constituted after the presidential assent to the bill to draft the rules for its implementation which submitted its final report to the Chief Minister on Friday.