Parents should be kept informed about live-in couples aged 18-21: Uttarakhand's UCC panel

Dehradun: A panel framing rules for Uttarakhand's Uniform Civil Code is trying to ensure that data provided by live-in couples remains protected but feels that information about those aged between 18 and 21 should be given to their parents, the committee's chief said on Friday.

The UCC, passed by the Uttarakhand Assembly in February, makes registration of live-in relationships and marriages mandatory.

On Friday, the report of an expert committee constituted to draft UCC under the chairmanship of Justice (retd) Ranjana Prakash Desai was uploaded on the website www.ucc.uk.gov.in.

The five-member panel headed by Desai was constituted on May 27, 2022. It received suggestions from 2.33 lakh people through 43 public dialogue programmes and various mediums. The committee submitted its report on February 2 this year.

Chairman of the UCC's rules-making and implementation committee, Shatrughna Singh, who was also a part of the Justice (retd) Desai panel, said the report could not be made public earlier because the model code of conduct was in force.

The panel framing rules for the implementation of UCC will ensure there is no breach of privacy of data provided by people at the time of registering their marriages and live-in relationships, he said at a press conference here.

Asked whether a mandatory provision of informing the parents about a live-in couple aged between 18 and 21 years would not be an assault on their privacy, Singh, who was formerly the chief secretary of Uttarakhand, said it was debatable.

"Data of live-in couples above 21 years of age will be totally protected. But, for couples aged between 18 and 21 years, the committee was of the view that the age (despite the fact that they have voting rights) is tender and so the parents should also be kept in the loop by way of precaution for the safety of the couple," he said.

The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, passed by the Uttarakhand Assembly on February 7, became a law with President Droupadi Murmu giving her assent to it on March 11. Uttarakhand is the first state in the country after Independence to adopt such a law.

The Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand Act, 2024, is meant to govern and regulate the laws relating to marriage and divorce, succession, live-in relationships, inheritance and maintenance for all citizens irrespective of their religion, gender, caste, or sex. It leaves Scheduled Tribes out of its ambit.

It effectively bans polygamy and 'halala' practised among a section of Muslims. Marriages, though, can be solemnised through separate rituals, like saptapadi, nikah and anand karaj, followed by different communities.

Replying to another question, Singh said that during the drafting committee's field visits to take feedback from the public on the uniform civil code, about eight to 10 per cent of respondents had suggested that the issue of population control should also be covered under its ambit.

However, the committee did not include it in the report as it did not fall under its ambit. The panel also examined whether states had the jurisdiction of bringing the UCC and found there was no Constitutional hurdle in doing so, he said.

The panel also found that the UCC was not an attack on the religious freedom of any section, said Singh.

He said the work of the rules-making and implementation committee of the UCC is in an advanced stage. "Coding of rules for implementation of the UCC is in progress and is likely to be completed soon."

Asked about Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami's recent comments that UCC will be implemented by October this year, he said the panel has been trying its best efforts to ensure that the law is implemented within that timeline.

Apart from framing rules for the UCC, which has already become an Act, the entire system of its implementation is being computerised so that people do not have any inconvenience, Singh said.

"People can do registration of marriages and live-in relationships sitting at their homes without going anywhere," he said.

Just a few days after the Uttarakhand Assembly passed the UCC Bill, the nine-member committee headed by Singh was formed to frame the rules for its implementation.

Singh said the makers of India's Constitution such as Bhimrao Ambedkar and members of the Constituent Assembly Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and Minoo Masani were in favour of a UCC.

Napoleon Bonaparte first introduced a uniform civil code in France in 1804, he said, adding such a law was introduced in the Republic of Türkiye in 1926.

"Despite being a predominantly Muslim country, it (Türkiye) talked about gender equality and banning polygamy at that time," Singh added.