Parents should be kept informed about live-in couples aged 18-21, says Uttarakhand's UCC panel

Dehradun: A panel framing rules for Uttarakhand's Uniform Civil Code is trying to ensure that data provided by live-in couples remains protected but feels that information about those aged between 18 and 21 should be given to their parents, the committee's chief said Friday.

The UCC, passed by the Uttarakhand Assembly in February, makes registration of live-in relationships and marriages mandatory.

On Friday, the report of an expert committee on UCC was uploaded on the website www.ucc.uk.gov.in. Chairman of the UCC's rules-making and implementation committee, Shatrughna Singh, said it could not be made public earlier because the model code of conduct was in force.

The panel framing rules for the implementation of UCC will ensure there is no breach of privacy of data provided by people at the time of registering their marriages and live-in relationships, he said at a press conference here.

Asked whether the mandatory provision of informing the parents about a live-in couple aged between 18 and 21 years would not be an assault on their privacy, Singh, who was formerly the chief secretary of Uttarakhand, said it was debatable.

"Data of live-in couples above 21 years of age will be totally protected. But, for couples aged between 18 and 21 years, the committee was of the view that the age (despite the fact that they have voting rights) is tender and so the parents should also be kept in the loop by way of precaution for the safety of the couple," he said.

The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, passed by the Uttarakhand Assembly on February 7, became a law with President Droupadi Murmu giving her assent to it on March 11. Uttarakhand is the first state in the country after Independence to adopt the UCC.

Singh said the work of the rules-making and implementation committee of the UCC is in an advanced stage. "Coding of rules for implementation of the UCC is in progress and is likely to be completed soon." Asked about Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami's recent comments that UCC will be implemented by October this year, he said the panel has been trying its best efforts to ensure that the law is implemented within that timeline.

Just a few days after the Uttarakhand Assembly passed the UCC Bill in February this year, the nine-member committee headed by Singh was formed to frame the rules for its implementation.