Dhami receives draft of rules for implementing UCC in U’khand, says it is meant for equality for all
News Mania / Piyal Chatterjee / 21st October 2024
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami received the final set of rules and regulations for Uttarakhand’s adoption of a Uniform Civil Code on Friday.The document was given to Dhami at the secretariat by the nine-member government-appointed committee led by former chief secretary Shatrughna Singh.The chief minister told reporters shortly after receiving the draft that its goal is to empower women and treat all societal segments equally.
The UCC draft’s submission to the state government opens the door for Uttarakhand to implement it. The document will now be examined by the state administration before being presented to the cabinet. Once approved by the government, the UCC will go into effect.
When the law is put into effect, Uttarakhand will be the first state in independent India to do so.According to Dhami, the four sections of the regulation draft outline the steps that must be taken in order to register marriages and divorces, succession, cohabitation, and births and deaths. “UCC is not being introduced to target any particular segment. It is for everyone’s equality, women’s safety, and their empowerment,” he told reporters. He stated that following consultation with the state cabinet, the UCC will soon be put into effect.
“We will go through it, examine its legal and other aspects, bring it before the cabinet to discuss it in detail and implement it,” the chief minister said. Officials and employees to be involved in the process of its implementation will also need to be trained, he said.
According to Dhami, the proposed regulations will eliminate the need for people to rush to government offices by establishing online tools for the mandatory registration of marriages, divorces, and cohabitation. In Uttarakhand, the UCC is tasked with overseeing and regulating the laws pertaining to succession, marriage and divorce, cohabitation, and other associated topics. A number of states led by the Bharatiya Janata Party have stated their desire to use it as a model. CM Dhami made a significant campaign pledge during the 2022 assembly elections to implement the UCC.
Dhami claimed that the BJP’s resounding victory in 2022, which sent them to power for a second consecutive term, constituted a mandate for the UCC’s adoption. Shortly after taking office for the second time as chief minister, Dhami made good on his pledge by appointing a committee to design the UCC on May 27, 2022, under the direction of former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. On February 2 of this year, the panel, of which Shatrughna Singh was a member, sent its draft to the state administration. Shortly thereafter, the state assembly called a special session to enact legislation on the UCC on February 7.
A panel headed by Singh was constituted after the presidential assent to the bill to draft the rules for its implementation which submitted its final report to the Chief Minister on Friday. PTI ALM NB
