Pushkar Singh Dhami, the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, elaborated on the new Uniform Civil Code on Monday, stating that daughters now have equal rights to their parents’ property and that polygamy has been outlawed for all religions in the state.
The Uniform Civil Code, which aims to establish uniform guidelines for marriage, inheritance, maintenance, and other civil matters pertaining to all religions, was today implemented by Uttarakhand, making it the first state to do so.
According to Dhami, no one of any religion will be permitted to remarry while their spouse is still living. He said daughters in all religions would have equal property rights.
Live-in relationships will need to be recorded, he said, and the registrar will let the couple’s parents know. Children born into cohabitation will likewise have equal property rights, he said.
He was quoted as saying by the news agency ANI, “Minimum age for marriage has been made compulsory in all religions – 21 years for a boy and 18 years for a girl. Second marriage is completely prohibited while the husband or wife is alive. Clear laws have also been made in the Uniform Civil Code regarding property division and child rights. Under these laws, daughters have also been given equal property rights in all religions and communities. Children born through live-in relationships will also be considered to have equal rights in property… In this law, registration for live-in relationships has been made mandatory. The registrar will give the information of the couple to their parents, this information will be kept completely confidential”.
Dhami added that Uttarakhand will commemorate January 27 as Uniform Civil Code Day.
Dhami says UCC will end discrimination
Pushkar Singh Dhami continued, “Uniform Civil Code is a constitutional measure to end discrimination. Through this, an attempt has been made to give equal rights to all citizens. With its implementation, women’s empowerment will be ensured in the true sense. Through this, evils like Halala, polygamy, child marriage, triple talaq etc can be completely stopped…We have kept our scheduled tribes mentioned under Article 342 of the Constitution out of this code so that those tribes and their rights can be protected…On this occasion today, I would like to clarify again that the Uniform Civil Code is not against any religion or sect, there is no question of targeting anyone”.
Today, Dhami marked the legislation’s implementation by launching the UCC portal.
A government order states that, “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of The Uniform Civil Code, Uttarakhand, 2024 (Act no 3 of 2024), the Governor hereby appoints the date 27 January 2025 as the date on which the said Code shall come into force.”
Everyone living in Uttarakhand is covered by the UCC, with the exception of Scheduled Tribes and groups and individuals with protected authority.
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