Will Uttarakhand Lead Implementation Of Uniform Civil Code In India? Check Modi Government's Plan Here

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami today said the state assembly will soon take up the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for discussion and passing to make it a law. If this happens, Uttarakhand will become the first state of independent India to have the UCC. At present, Goa is the only state which has UCC in the form of common family law as provided by the Portuguese Civil Code that remains in force even today. The Uniform Civil Code is a proposal to formulate and implement personal laws that will apply uniformly to all citizens regardless of their religion, gender, and sexual orientation.

"Now we are also preparing to implement the Uniform Civil Code of Conduct in Devbhoomi. It will be presented in the Assembly soon," said CM Dhami. The Uttarakhand Cabinet has already approved the decisions taken by the five-member panel formed to prepare a draft for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state. CM Dhami had promised to bring UCC into the state at the eleventh hour before the assembly polls last year.

The committee is headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, who currently heads the Delimitation Commission of India. Other members of the committee include retired Delhi High Court judge Pramod Kohli, social activist Manu Gaur, ex-chief secretary and IAS officer Shatrughan Singh, and Doon University Vice-Chancellor Surekha Dangwal.

The Uniform Civil Code has been a part of the BJP manifesto for long. Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently said that the Modi government will take all possible steps to implement the Uniform Civil Code. During a recent TV event, Shah said that the UCC was the Constituent Assembly's mandate to the country's legislature and Parliament. Shah said that the UCC is a huge social and legal change. "We need everybody's opinion on this. If one state or two states does this, and they form committees and hearings are undertaken...there will be legal scrutiny as well. After that, the mature change will be accepted by the entire nation, I believe," said Shah.

The Union Home Minister Amit Shah was possibly indicating that if one or two states implement the UCC, then the law will certainly be challenged before the courts including the High Court and the Supreme Court and then every section of society will have to accept the UCC if the courts rule in the favour of the common civil code.

Like Article 370 and Ram Temple, the UCC is also a controversial topic. However, just like the matters of Article 370 and Ram Temple were settled with the court order, the Modi government may take a similar route for the UCC as well. 

Article 44 of the Constitution of India says that the State shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) throughout the territory of India. The UCC proposes a common set of laws dealing with marriage, inheritance, adoption, and other matters. 

During a rally in Bhopal, PM Narendra Modi also said that the country cannot run on two laws and that the Uniform Civil Code is in accordance with the founding principles and ideals of the Constitution. 

This also makes clear that soon BJP BJP-ruled states will start work to implement the UCC and strengthen its vote bank as well. The Law Commission has already initiated fresh consultation on the issue earlier this year and the discussions include various court judgements related to the issue.