Finally, the UCC was implemented in Uttarakhand on January 27, 2025. The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) was one of the main electoral agenda of the BJP in the 2022 Uttarakhand Assembly Elections. After assuming power, the Uttarakhand Government formed a committee under the chairpersonship of retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai to draft the UCC. In February 2024, the committee submitted its report to the state government. On February 7, 2024, after minimal discussion, the Uttarakhand Assembly passed the bill, and in March 2024, the President gave his assent. However, it took ten more months to implement it due to the need for drafting rules.
The BJP-RSS has been trying to use the notion of uniformity in civil codes to their own advantage to turn India into a regressive and communal country. In the name of ensuring Uniformity in civil laws, the BJP has been trying to intervene in personal laws of minorities, especially Muslims to feed their communal narrative aimed at otherising the Muslims. The progressive women’s movement in the country has very categorically stated that while gender just reforms are needed in every personal law and secular civil laws, uniformity is only aimed at serving the hate filled majoritarian motive of the BJP-RSS.
Now that the Uttarakhand UCC has been implemented, it is for everyone to see that ensuring gender justice was never in the agenda for BJP. UCC has been implemented in Uttarakhand to normalise a regressive moral code that will not only unjustly portray the country’s Muslims in a negative light, but also intensify the state’s intervention in free will of adult citizens in choosing whom they marry or love.
Constitutional Provision on UCC
Before examining the provisions of the so-called UCC introduced by the Uttarakhand government, it is important to understand what the Constitution says about UCC. The UCC is mentioned in Part IV of the Indian Constitution under the Directive Principles of State Policy in Article 44. While the fundamental spirit of the directive principles in guaranteeing socio-economic well being of the citizens, equality and justice are being pushed back every day by the present regime, UCC is being tweaked to further the regressive social norms espoused by the RSS.
Constituent Assembly Debate on UCC
On November 23, 1948, the Constituent Assembly debated UCC. At that time, it was Article 35, later renumbered as Article 44 in the final Constitution. Minority community members of the Constituent Assembly expressed concerns over uniformity in personal laws, which have now become a reality. The BJP’s bias against minorities is evident in the UCC, something that was already anticipated in the Assembly debates.
In response to this debate, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Chairman of the Drafting Committee, clarified that UCC would not be imposed on anyone. He stated: "It does not say that after the Code is framed the State shall enforce it upon all citizens merely because they are citizens. It is perfectly possible that the future Parliament may make a provision by way of making a beginning that the Code shall apply only to those who make a declaration that they are prepared to be bound by it, so that in the initial stage the application of the Code may be purely voluntary."
Dr. Ambedkar Pointed out two essential aspects of UCC being proposed in the Directive Principles of the constitution-
1. UCC was never meant to be imposed on anyone, which is why it was placed under the Directive Principles; and 2. Parliament, not state assemblies, was supposed to legislate on UCC. However, in Uttarakhand’s case, the law was forcibly imposed on all communities through the state legislature (except Scheduled Tribes).
21st Law Commission: UCC is Undesirable
During the first tenure of Modi rule, the Government of India tasked the 21st Law Commission in June 2016 with examining UCC related issues. On August 31, 2018, the Law Commission, led by retired Justice B.S. Chauhan, stated in its consultation paper:
"The different aspects of existing personal laws disadvantage women... The root cause of inequality is not diversity but discrimination."
The Commission further noted:
"India is known for its cultural diversity, and this must be preserved. Marginalized groups should not be deprived in this process. Resolving contradictions does not mean eliminating diversity. Hence, this Commission has focused on eliminating discriminatory laws rather than enforcing a UCC, which is neither necessary nor desirable at this time."
Similarly, the High Level Committee on the Status of Women (HLCSW) studied women's conditions and submitted its report in June 2015. The report stated:
"The approach should not be to impose a single law on everyone, but rather to ensure that all women - whether governed by secular or personal laws - attain the equality promised by the Indian Constitution. Instead of imposing uniformity in a fundamentalist or majoritarian way, legal frameworks should address specific aspects in a nuanced manner."
Despite categorical comments by the 21st Law Commission warning about imposition of uniformity in personal laws, the 22nd Law Commission restarted the discussion to benefit the patriarchal and communal discourse created by the current regime.
Uttarakhand's UCC Violates Federalism
Not only has the Uttarakhand Assembly passed the UCC, but the BJP government has exceeded its jurisdiction by making it applicable even to Uttarakhand residents living outside the state.
In India’s federal structure, states can only legislate within their own territorial limits. A state law cannot extend its jurisdiction to other states. However, the Uttarakhand government has overstepped this boundary.
A Criminal, Not Civil Code
Although termed a ‘civil’ code, the law includes punitive measures. It criminalizes non-registration of marriages, divorces, and live-in relationships. The process of registering a live-in relationship has been made mandatory and excessively complicated. The registration requires police notification, landlord details and proof of residence, among other formalities. Failure to register a live-in relationship within a month carries a penalty of three months' imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000. These provisions are nothing but the state's forcible intervention in the lives and choices of adult citizens. Live-in relationships are chosen by couples who do not want to enter formal marital engagements. Those who cross the rigid caste, class and religious boundaries to choose their partners are going to be at the target of the punitive provisions under UCC.
On the day of UCC's implementation (January 27, 2025), Chief Minister Dhami made a communal remark, saying that UCC was necessary to prevent cases like ‘Aftab committing barbarity against Shraddha’. However, he conveniently ignored a similar crime that happened years earlier in Uttarakhand itself - an engineer Rajesh Gulati killed his wife, stored her body in a deep freezer, and gradually disposed of her remains. What Mr. Dhami shamelessly hid that violence against women is not restricted to any religion or live-in relationships. It is a reality of a patriarchal society that systematically subverts women’s equal status in the society. It is this patriarchal structure that clamps down on anyone who transcends the regressive social code of caste, class and communalism to love and live their lives. The Uttarakhand UCC has been implemented to ensure state’s sanction to that systematic violence.
Strict Regulations Even on Marriages
Not only the registration of live-in but also marriage has been made very complex. People of Uttarakhand, whether living there or outside, have to fill a 16 page form regarding their marital status- whether they are married, divorced, widow or widower. They must either register their marriage or get an acknowledgement for the same. The list of procedures does not end here. If the person changes his/her house, e-mail, telephone number, the information should be updated. Even the list of new children should be updated! A fine of rupees ten thousand would be imposed on those who fail to register their marriage. Additionally, such persons would not be eligible to avail benefits and subsidies from government schemes. The government employees are beginning to feel the pinch of UCC. A letter was issued by the district magistrates, directing employees to register their marriage, failing which their salary for the month of March would be withheld!
Targeting Minorities Under the Guise of UCC
The BJP’s bias against minorities is evident in UCC. The drafting committee did not include a single member from a minority community. While claiming to protect minority women, an example of the contempt towards minorities is the fact that not a single member of the UCC committee belonged to the minority community. A party that eulogises the mass rapists of Bilkis Bano of Gujarat and garlands them on their release from jail is making a cruel joke about these women.
Surveillance State
Under UCC, every resident of Uttarakhand is effectively under state surveillance. Private relationships are deemed valid only if certified by the government. UCC, in its current form, is not about gender justice, but about increasing state control over people's personal lives. It is another tool in the hands of a fascist government to tighten its grip over citizens. Thus, opposing UCC is not just about resisting communal policies—it is about defending fundamental civil rights.
