Hits and misses in Uttarakhand UCC

The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) of Uttarakhand, which was recently brought into force, is a bulky enactment comprising 392 sections, seven schedules and multiple forms.

- Tahir Mahmood

The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) of Uttarakhand, which was recently brought into force, is a bulky enactment comprising 392 sections, seven schedules and multiple forms. Nearly 80% of its bulk contains procedural provisions relating to the registration of marriages, divorces and live-in relationships, execution and interpretation of wills, and administration of deceased persons' estates. Its substantive principles, though not many, are replete with significant implications of far-reaching consequences.

The basic rules of matrimonial law spelt out in Part I of the code seem to have been drawn from a combined reading of parallel provisions under the Special Marriage Act and the Hindu Marriage Act of 1954-55. The provisions of this part on registration of marriages replace the Uttarakhand Compulsory Registration of Marriages Act of 2010, which the code repeals. Additionally, the code requires registration of divorces obtained through judicial proceedings. This is an innovation.

Section 391 (1) of the code declares that "any law (statutory or otherwise), practice, custom or usage in force in the state immediately before the commencement of this code relating to the matters covered by this code, shall cease to have an effect within the territory of the state, in so far as they are inconsistent with any of the provisions contained in this code". This overriding provision will render ineffective certain provisions of personal laws, both statutory and non-statutory, in their application in the state.