How uniform is Uniform Civil Code Bill tabled in the Uttarakhand assembly today? Explained in 5 concise points

The Uniform Civil Code Uttarakhand 2024 Bill (UCC) was tabled at the state's legislative assembly on Tuesday, which chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami denoted to be a ‘moment of pride’. 

On Sunday, the Uttarakhand Cabinet greenlit the final draft of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), advocating uniform civil laws for all communities in the state. Upon assembly approval and the governor's consent, it will become law, fulfilling a key BJP manifesto promise from the 2022 elections. But the question is how uniform is the Uttarakhand's Uniform Civil Code Bill. 

What is the Uniform Civil Code Uttarakhand 2024 Bill?

• Some of the key features that the UCC Uttarakhand 2024 Bill includes are recommendations such as a complete ban on polygamy and child marriage. 
• It also says a common marriageable age for girls across all faiths needs to be decided and a similar grounds and procedures for divorce are also required.
• The Bill talks about equal property rights for sons and daughters, elimination of the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, equal property rights after death, and inclusion of adopted and biological children. 
• To prepare the bill, the Uttarakhand government, in 2022, established a special panel headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai The panel, including retired justice Pramod Kohli, social activist Manu Gaur, former Chief Secretary Shatrughan Singh, and Doon University Vice Chancellor Surekha Dangwal, produced a comprehensive 740-page draft in four volumes. 
• They collected lakhs of feedback, written and online, held several public forums and 43 public outreach programs, and engaged with over 60,000 people to prepare the bill. 

Speaking about the UCC bill in Uttarakhand, Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said, “This is not just the issue of the Centre; the makers of the Constitution had discussed this even when the Constitution was being made...Right now, this matter is under consideration with the Law Commission of India and is in the consultation process. The states can fix it or improve it, and the government of Goa has already worked on UCC.”

Meghwal said on Monday that the Uniform Civil Code is in the consultation process and being reviewed by the Law Commission of India.