UCC Bill To Be Tabled In Uttarakhand Assembly On February 5, Drafting Committee Chaired By Justice Ranjana Desai Submits Report To CM
A Committee chaired by retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai has submitted its final draft report on Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami today.
In May 2022, the Uttarakhand government had set up a five-member committee of experts under Justice (retired) Desai to examine the relevant laws regulating personal civil matters of residents of Uttarakhand and to prepare draft law/laws or suggest changes in existing laws on the subject that includes marriage, divorce, property rights, succession/inheritance, adoption, maintenance, custody and guardianship.
It has been announced that the draft would be discussed and passed in the state cabinet meeting scheduled on February 3 and the same would be tabled in the Uttarakhand Assembly in the session specially called for this purpose on February 5.
The Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Radha Raturi had earlier on January 31 said that the Expert Committee formed for the UCC will submit its report to the CM on February 2 and on February 3, the report will be kept before the Cabinet. She further said that from February 5 to 8, a special session of the State Assembly will be held where the UCC bill will be passed.
Earlier on January 29, the Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhammi had issued a statement on the UCC.
He tweeted on the social media platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), "Our government has always been committed to implementing the Uniform Civil Code in the state in accordance with the vision of respected Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji of 'One India, Best India' and the resolution and aspirations placed before the godlike people of Uttarakhand before the elections. The committee formed to prepare the draft of the Uniform Civil Code will submit its draft to the state government on February 2 and we will implement the Uniform Civil Code in the state by bringing a bill in the upcoming assembly session. #UCCInUttarakhand”
In June last year, Justice Ranjana Desai had said that the Law Commission is considering working on the issue of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). She said this after a meeting with the Chairperson and members of the Law Commission in New Delhi. Desai and members of the Uttarakhand panel had met the Law Commission Chairman, Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, and members Justice K T Sankaran, Anand Paliwal, and D P Verma.
