The Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, 2024 has been granted assent by President of India Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday, 13 March.
The Bill, which seeks to “govern and regulate the laws related to marriage and divorce, successions, live-in relationships and matters related thereto”, was passed by the Assembly on 7 February.
On 28 February, the Bill was approved by the State Lieutenant Governor and reserved for President’s assent.
According to Live Law, some key aspects of the law are: mandatory registration of live-In relations, conditions for a contract marriage, ban on halala, iddat and polygamy, and similar inheritance rights for men and women. It applies not only to Uttarakhand but also to residents of the State who are living outside its territories. The application to Scheduled Tribes, however, is excluded.
“Under Article 201 of the ‘Constitution of India’, the President gave assent to the ‘Uniform Civil Code Uttarakhand 2024’ Bill passed by the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly, on 11 March 2024, and it is published as Act Number 3, the year 2024, of Uttarakhand for general information,” said the state government in a gazette issued on Wednesday.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami called it a moment of great pride and joy.
“It is a moment of great joy and pride for all the people of the state that the UCC Bill passed by our government in the Uttarakhand Assembly has been approved by the respected President Draupadi Murmu ji today. Certainly, with the implementation of the UCC in the state, along with providing equal rights to all citizens, the oppression of women will also be curbed. #UniformCivilCode will play an important role in promoting harmony by proving the importance of social equality in the state,” he wrote on X.
BJP has been weaponising the UCC project since a long time to consolidate Hindu majoritarian sentiment against personal laws of minorities, especially the Muslim personal law.
The UCC bill comes at a time when the state of Uttarakhand sees an unprecedented increase in hate crimes against Muslims under BJP rule.
 Bill, 2024 has been granted assent by President of India Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday, 13 March.){kind=link}