Uttarakhand UCC Inheritance Law:

The historic Uniform Civil Code Bill 2024 has been introduced in the Assembly. CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, who reached the Assembly with a copy of the Constitution in his hand, placed the 202-page bill on the table of the House on Tuesday. In this, rules have been made in detail on marriage, divorce, succession, right to adoption, live-in relationships, and marriage registration. This law will also apply to all citizens of Uttarakhand living outside the state.

This law will not apply to people and groups of Scheduled Tribes (ST). After the implementation of the law, daughters will get equal rights in the property. The rules of succession have been tightened. After the bill was introduced in the Assembly, there was a debate for four and a half hours. There was a heated exchange between the ruling party and the opposition during this period. Congress demanded that the bill be sent to the Select Committee so that it could be improved. At the same time, the BJP was seen putting forth its negative views on the bill.

After the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), another big change will be seen related to the inheritance of common people. On the death of a child, the parents will also be a shareholder in his movable and immovable property, otherwise under the current inheritance law, after the death of the husband, the bank balance, property etc. are given to the wife only. This leaves the parents helpless. This anomaly will end when the UCC comes.

This manual will clarify what action can be taken if marriage, divorce, live-in relationships, birth-death are not registered? What will be its procedure? What can be the punishment?

Under these rules, after the implementation of UCC, all those husbands and wives who got married before the implementation of the law will be given six months to register their marriage. After six months, those couples will be given three months to get married who got married after the implementation of UCC. Under the inheritance law, major changes like giving a share to parents in the property of children will be seen.

In the new law, registration of all marriages has been made mandatory. Registration has also been made mandatory for live-in relationships. Officials will be able to issue notice for registration of marriage or live-in relationships even on any information or complaint. A fine of 25 thousand will be imposed for not applying for registration within one month of the notice. Divorce can also be done with mutual consent. The condition will be that the marriage should have been over for more than a year. Violating this can result in a fine of Rs 50,000 and six months imprisonment. In cases like Halala, a sentence of three years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh can be imposed. It has been included in a cognizable offence.

This law includes 37 categories of men and women. This means that marriage between them will not be possible. More than one marriage has been banned. This means that second marriage cannot take place while the husband or wife is alive. Experts say that this law will not affect some things. For example, religious beliefs and religious customs of marriage will not be affected. There will be no impact on food, worship, clothing.

When the Uniform Civil Code is implemented, all religions and sects, be it Hindu or Muslim, have been given equal rights. There is no place in this bill for words like majority and minority. The government claims that the implementation of the law will also ensure the protection of children and their rights. With all religions and communities having equal rights, this law will prove to be a big step towards social justice.

Till now, all religions and communities have different rules, customs, rituals and traditions in matters like marriage, divorce, maintenance, child adoption and inheritance. In such cases, a rule and system has been given for everyone in the bill. After the implementation of Uniform Citizenship Law, registration of live-in relationships will be mandatory. Scheduled tribes have been kept out of the scope of the bill. Registration will be necessary for marriage in this. In all religions, the age of marriage will be 18 years for the girl, while the age of the boy has been kept at 21 years.

To conclude however, if I say that Chief Minister Dhami has played the most crucial role in the introduction and subsequently passing of the UCC bill in Uttarakhand, then it will not be an exaggeration. Under the able leadership of Chief Minister Dhami, Uttarakhand is going to become such a state in the whole country where UCC will be implemented first. BJP had promised that if the government comes to power again, the UCC bill will be implemented. While on one hand women will be empowered by this bill, on the other hand, all sections of the society will get the benefit of this bill. Under the UCC, equal laws of marriage, divorce, alimony, land, property and inheritance will be applicable for all citizens of the state, irrespective of their religion. Keeping this bold initiative of Dhami ji in mind, I salute him and his party from the bottom of my heart.

Article written by and Editorial credit: State Bureau Chief Himanshu Nauriyal.