Uttarakhand becomes first state to implement Uniform Civil Code(UCC)

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Dehradun, January 27

Uttarakhand became the first state in India to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) on Monday. The UCC establishes a comprehensive legal framework aimed at unifying personal laws related to marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, and succession for all citizens of the state, regardless of religion or community.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced the decision, highlighting that the UCC seeks to address disparities in personal civil matters that were previously discriminated based on caste, religion, and gender. He assured that all necessary preparations, including rule approvals and training for relevant officials, have been completed. “A new era of equality and harmony has begun,” Dhami wrote in a post on X.

The UCC brings several key changes including marriages will now be mandatory for registration, ensuring legal recognition and protection, divorce laws will be standardized across all communities, removing past inequalities, the legal marriage age for girls will be set at 18, and adoption will remain within religious communities and practices like Halala and Iddat, previously followed by some communities, will no longer be allowed.

Additionally, monogamy will be enforced, prohibiting remarriage while both spouses are alive. The law guarantees equal inheritance rights for both genders, and live-in relationships will require registration to ensure legal rights for those involved. Children from live-in relationships will have the same rights as those born to married couples. However, Scheduled Tribes are excluded from UCC provisions, and their separate laws will remain in place.