oto Credit: VIRENDER SINGH NEGI/PTI
Uttarakhand has become the first State in the country to bring in a uniform civil code (UCC). But the code, which came into effect on January 27, has drawn sharp criticism for being intrusive and promoting state control in personal relationships, including marriages, divorces, matrimonial disputes, and live-in relationships, as well as in matters of succession and inheritance.
The State Assembly passed the Uniform Civil Code Bill in February 2024; it was notified in March 2024 following the President’s assent. On January 20 this year, the State Cabinet approved the Rules for implementing the code.
In a strangely worded provision, the Rules state that the code “will apply to residents of Uttarakhand who reside outside the territories to which these rules extend”. The Rules, which cover marriage, divorce, inheritance, succession, matrimonial disputes, registration and termination of live-in relationships, will also apply to cases where one of the partners is a foreign national and the other is from Uttarakhand.
The code leaves the Scheduled Tribes out of its ambit on the grounds that their customary rights are protected under Part XXI of the Constitution. The LGBTQIA+ community is left out from its stipulations regarding marriages and live-in relationships; the code does not address transgender and same-sex marriages.
