From marriage to divorce to live-in partners: UCC provisions & context

The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill, which the Uttarakhand government introduced in the House on Tuesday, will be the first of its kind to be implemented in a state following independence if it is passed.

- Utkarsh Anand

Understanding the provisions and legal context of the UCC 

NEW DELHI: The proposed law, called the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), Uttarakhand, 2024, conveyed the Pushkar Singh Dhami government's resolve to put in place an overarching legal regime for governing personal matters, including marriage, divorce, live-in relationships, and succession, regardless of religion.

The bill contemplates an official mechanism under the state government for compulsory registration of marriages, besides providing for the first time a legal recognition to live-in relationships that can be registered as well as dissolved under the proposed legislation. Intriguingly, the bill also criminalises staying in a live-in relationship for more than a month without registering it and the offence can lead to a jail term of up to three months.

Under the proposed law, the practice of polygamy and marriage on attainment of puberty otherwise allowed under the Muslim personal law -- have been sought to be done away with, whereas seeking divorce through different forms of 'talaq' would be a penal offence that can entail up to three years in jail.

The 192-page bill contains a variety of new provisions that the state government has envisaged for applying to the residents of the state irrespective of their religion. An analysis of the bill while juxtaposing it with the concept of UCC becomes relevant to analyse how Uttarakhand has tried to navigate through the muzzle of personal laws and whether the bill can withstand a constitutional validity test, should it be challenged in court. Such an exercise is also important given that several other states have already indicated their predisposition to a similar law.

UCC and the Constitution