The Uttarakhand Assembly on Wednesday passed the Uniform Civil Code bill, which seeks to replace religious personal laws that govern marriage, relationship and inheritance. Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had tabled the contentious legislation in the house on Tuesday. With this, Uttarakhand has become the first state in India to have a law on the Uniform Civil Code.
While speaking on the draft CM Dhami said that the bill was prepared in accordance with the Constitution.
"After independence, the makers of the Constitution gave the right under Article 44 that the states can also introduce the UCC at appropriate time. People have doubts regarding this. We made the draft as per the constitutional system," he said in the legislative assembly.
The state government, led by Pushkar Singh Dhami, earlier in 2022 formed a committee to prepare a draft for UCC. The committee was led by Ranjana Prakash Desai, a retired Supreme Court judge, and comprised five members.
The committee also included social activist Manu Gaur, retired IAS officer Shatrughan Singh, vice- chancellor of Doon University Surekha Dangwal, and former chief justice of the Sikkim High Court Permod Kohli. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami received the committee's final draft of the UCC recently.
Protest from opposition members, claiming insufficient time for study, preceded the bill's introduction, but assurance were given for ample review. The legislative session was specially convened for the UCC bill's passage, fulfilling a BJP election promise from the 2022 Assembly polls.
Speaking on the development minister of Uttarakhand Prem Chand Aggarwal told ANI "When the law is implemented, all ill societal norms would be eradicated and women would be empowered... I think everyone supported it because this was a topic which could not be opposed.. The bill will first go to the Governor, then to the president of India and then we implement it in the state as a law".
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