ONE STATE, ONE LAW: UCC IN UTTARAKHAND

Abstract

India’s strength lies in its principle of unity in diversity, which is truly upheld when every citizen, religious and cultural group, tradition etc. is treated equally, uniformly and with dignity throughout the country. The Uniform Civil Code introduced in Uttarakhand seeks to uphold these values through implementing uniform law for personal matter applicable to every individual regardless of their gender, culture, religion or tradition. This article explores the background of UCC from colonial rule till present, along with highlighting key features and concerns related to UCC in Uttarakhand.

INTRODUCTION

India is the home of different cultures, religion and belief. After the independence, the most difficult task was to bring this diversity under one umbrella. While acknowledging all these difference, Constituent Assembly, to maintain the harmony among all, opted to allow these differences to be governed by religion-specific personal laws. However, simultaneously they laid down the provision for uniformity for state under Article 44 of Indian Constitution, which says, “the State shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.” Till date personal laws continues to govern the matters related marriage, inheritance, divorce, adoption etc. But coastal state Goa stands as a notable exception, having continued with a common civil code, a legacy of its Portuguese-era legal system.

After a long gap since the Constitution was framed, Uttarakhand stands out as the first state after post-independence to implement Uniform civil code. Through implementing UCC state government under Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami aims at bringing uniformity and equality in application of personal laws. Uniform Civil Code is a step forward in achieving gender justice across the communities.

Background of Uniform Civil Code

Uniform Civil Code refers to the common civil code or common law for every citizen irrespective of religion and caste. In colonial era, British administration took the initiative to codify various laws like Indian penal code (1860), Indian Contract Act (1872), Indian Evidence Act (1872) etc. However, the laws related to religious matters- marriage, adoption, inheritance, divorce etc., were not codified because of the cultural and religious diversities. Instead, Britisher choose to allow these matters to be governed according to their own personal law. After independence, there were debates within the constituent assembly regarding the implementation of UCC. To ensure tranquility and harmony, Assembly placed UCC in the Article 44 of Indian Constitution as Directive Principles of State Policy.  Seeing the cultural and religious sensitivity across the country, government didn’t implement UCC (except Goa). The Indian Judiciary has also repeatedly emphasized the need of implementing Uniform Civil code through various landmark judgements (e.g. Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum, 1985).

However, supporters of UCC contended that by eliminating traditional personal, will help in achieving social justice and gender equality, while critics argued that, UCC may infringe religious freedom. It was further argued that, the State should not interfere in religious matters, allowing this would be a “tyranny”.

While Goa remained the notable example of UCC since colonial times, until in 2024, Uttarakhand took a major step in Indian history by implementing UCC in the state, aimed at unifying personal laws related to marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, and succession for all citizens of Uttarakhand, irrespective of religion or community. These rules are designed to promote equality, fairness, and streamlined governance in civil matters.

Tracing the timeline

In May 2022, the government of Uttarakhand constituted a committee of experts under the leadership of Hon’ble Justice (Retd) Ranjana Prakash Desai along with Hon’ble Justice (Retd) Permod Kohli, social activist Shri Manu Gaur, IAS (Retd) Shri Shatrughna Singh, Prof. Surekha Dangwal, Vice chancellor of Doon University and Shri Ajay Mishra, as members. Along with the establishment of committee, the web portal was launched to receive suggestion, various public dialogue programs were also launched, and the issue was taken up for discussions with officials in police, law, social welfare and the tribal welfare departments. 

After thorough consideration of the discussions, suggestions and opinion, the expert committee presented the draft of the code and the report to Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttarakhand on 2^nd February, 2024. Thereafter, the UCC Bill was placed on the table of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly for debate and discussion. Finally on 7^th February, 2024, UCC bill was passed in Uttarakhand legislative assembly, making Uttarakhand as the first state in post-independence India, to implement Uniform Civil Code, as envisioned in Article 44 of Indian Constitution and echoed in several judicial decisions.

Key features of Uttarakhand’s UCC.

At the core, UCC’s aim is to replace different traditional personal laws governing the matters related to divorce, marriage, adoption and inheritance, to ensure uniformity and promote gender-neutral legal framework. Some other key features are:

• The code mandates that all the marriages are need to be registered within the 60 days of the ceremony, non-compliance invites the monetary fine of Rs. 20,000. However, a marriage will not be considered invalid merely due to non-registration.
• It banned the practice of polygamy, nikah halala, iddat and talaq from Muslim Personal Law.
• According to UCC, the marriage may only be solemnized between man and woman, if they have attained the legal marriage age i.e. 21 years for men and 18 years for women and should be mentally capable of giving consent, prohibiting child marriage.
• UCC further mandates the registration of couples in live-in relationship aged above 21 years, with the District Registrar within one month of UCC implementation. Law mandates parental or guardians consent for live-in partner below 21 years of age. Further, separation of couples must be officially notified to the concerned authority. This provision is applicable to all those living in Uttarakhand as well as residents of Uttarakhand living elsewhere in India.
• The UCC eliminates the concept of an ‘illegitimate’ child, that is a child born out of a void or voidable marriage. Any child born out of such wedlock will be treated in the same way as a child born out of a ‘valid’ marriage.
• UCC promotes equality by granting, equal property rights for sons and daughters, increasing rights of women in succession as opposed to Muslim and Christian personal laws. Disease or deformity of heir is not a ground for disqualification.

Exemption

Uniform Civil Code which is uniformly applicable to all those living in Uttarakhand. However, UCC exempt state tribal population fully from its provision. As tribal and ethnic communities during public discussions expressed their opposition to the imposition of civil code as it could impact their customs and age-old way of living.

Concerns:

Despite all its progressive aims, the UCC is still remains a controversial issue. Firstly, UCC aims to establish equality and uniformity but do not provide any provisions for LGBTQ+ relationships, same- sex relations or their live-in relationship. Consequently, LGBTQ+ individuals remain excluded from the rights as mentioned in the code, contradicting its aim of equality. UCC confides its provisions to heterosexual relationship, thus, violating the judicial verdict of Supreme Court in landmark case of Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India. Secondly, the provision of legal age of marriage is conflicting in nature with the plan of the Union seeking to increase the marriage age for women to 21 (Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021). Thirdly, it may hamper the fundamental right, freedom of religion of communities residing in Uttarakhand, by replacing personal laws, which are deeply rooted in customs and traditions. Fourthly, it may infringe right to privacy of people by mandating the registration of live-in relationship. Therefore, violating individual dignity, freedom of privacy and can be misused, ultimately harming those it aims to protect. Fourthly, elimination of the distinction between separate and joint family property, might leave succession in the favour of sons, potentially sidelining daughters. Lastly, most pressing concern of UCC is the excessive power and authority granted to registrars in registration. There is the potential threat of misuse of power, exploitation and harassment by the registrars.

Conclusion

The implementation of UCC in Uttarakhand marks as a very important standpoint in India’s history, aiming to bring uniformity and equality along with the justice in civil matters like divorce, marriage, adoption and inheritance. However, there are several grey areas in the provisions of UCC, which may be detrimental to individuals’ dignity, autonomy and rights (especially of minority communities). All ambiguities must be addressed through spreading public awareness, judicial reasoning and regular feedback and suggestion from the general public as society evolves, so does the law and vice versa.

UCC is the controversial issue, therefore UCC in Uttarakhand serves as a reference point as well as the reminder, highlighting the need of harmony, tranquility and equality among diverse cultural and religious groups in India.

REFERENCE(S):

• Uniform Civil Code (UCC) | Current Affairs – Vision IAS, Vision IAS Monthly Magazine, 12 September 2024 (updated 14 September 2024) ‹Uniform Civil Code (UCC)› (in), accessed 25 July 2025.
• Sughosh Joshi, Uniform Civil Code: The History and the Present (Law and Other Things, 13 February 2024) ‹Uniform Civil Code: The History and the Present›, accessed 25 July 2025.
• Government of Uttarakhand, Uniform Civil Code, Uttarakhand (official portal, 2025) ‹Uniform Civil Code, Uttarakhand›, accessed 25 July 2025.
• Uniform Civil Code, Uttarakhand, Act 2 of 2024.
• Drishti IAS, Analyzing Uttarakhand’s UCC Bill (Drishti IAS Daily News & Editorials, 2025) ‹Analyzing Uttarakhand’s UCC Bill› accessed 26 July 2025.
• Salient Features of Uniform Civil Code Introduced in Uttarakhand (Compass (Rau’s IAS), 2025) <‹Salient Features of Uniform Civil Code Introduced in Uttarakhand› accessed 26 July 2025.
• Vajiram & Ravi, Uttarakhand Becomes First State to Implement Uniform Civil Code (UCC) (Vajiram & Ravi, 2025) ‹Uttarakhand Becomes First State to Implement Uniform Civil Code (UCC)› (com), accessed 26 July 2025.
• UCC comes into force in Uttarakhand: Making legal processes related to marriage simple (Deccan Herald, 27 January 2025) ‹UCC comes into force in Uttarakhand› accessed 28 July 2025.
• Anubhuti Vishnoi, Uttarakhand set to exempt tribals from UCC (Economic Times, 31 January 2024) ‹Uttarakhand set to exempt tribals from UCC› accessed 29 July 2025.