Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code Bil 2024

 

Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code Bill 2024: An Important Step Towards Uniformity And Oneness Of The Nation

 

Written by: Mansi Rana

2nd  Year LL.M. (Business Law)

Prestige Institute of Management and Research Gwalior (M.P)

  

Edited by: Kashaf Ali

LL.B. 3^rd Year

Career College of Law, Bhopal (M.P)

 

        INTRODUCTION

After passing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill 2024, Uttarakhand became the first state to implement the Uniform Civil Code in independent India. This enacted UCC bill offers uniform guidelines for marriage, divorce, property inheritance, and cohabitation for all Uttarakhand inhabitants (except the Scheduled Tribes), irrespective of their spiritual or religious beliefs.

The UCC aims to replace individual personal codes of each faith with a focus on marriage, divorce, adoption and inheritance according to the Directive Principle of State Policy under Article 44 of the Indian Constitution. They provide that the government should attempt to set up a common civil code for all citizens of India.

All citizens would be subject to the same personal laws under this code, regardless of their religion. For a secular nation, a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is a desirable and progressive objective. But it might not be optimal to just enforce uniformity without taking fair consideration for the varied cultural and social behaviours among various social groups.

The Uttarakhand Assembly's adoption of the UCC intends to harmonize all communities' laws regarding marriage, divorce, and succession. The State is the first to implement a standard code for civil proceedings since Goa before independence. The peculiar aspect of this UCC that seeks to formalize live-in relationships through registration is especially unconstitutional.

The mandated three-month jail sentence for non-registration exacerbates this unwelcome intrusion into residents' private lives. The imposition of a three-month prison sentence for non-registration exacerbates this unwelcome intrusion into the private lives of residents. It will expose citizens to social antagonism, invasive questions, and needless restriction of their freedom. Although it has certain benefits, such as granting legal status to the offspring of a cohabitation and requiring support in the event of abandonment, the concept of cohabiting individuals having to register and undergo verification is not compatible with individual rights.

MEANING OF UCC (UNIFORM CIVIL CODE)

UCC is a law applicable commonly to all religious communities for personal matters such as marriage, inheritance, divorce, adoption, etc. The UCC's implementation, however, is left up to the government's discretion by the writers of the Constitution. The Portuguese Civil Code of 1867 is the only state in India that has a UCC, and that state is Goa.

Uniform Civil Code seeks to supersede the various personal laws that various religious communities now use to regulate private concerns. It seeks to do away with inconsistent legal systems founded on various religions and cultures in order to advance social harmony, gender equality, and secularism. The goal of such a code is to guarantee legal consistency both inside and between communities.

THE UCC BILL 2024 OF UTTRAKHAND

The Government of Uttarakhand has established five member Expert Committee chaired by Justice Ranjana Desai, (former Supreme Court judge), in order to draft a Uniform Civil Code Bill. A state's executive power extends to subjects over which the state legislature can pass laws, as per Article 162 of the Indian Constitution. It is impossible to contest that the powers granted under Entry 5 of the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule to establish a Committee to introduce and implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) exceed their authority.

The Concurrent List addresses "also matters in respect of which parties in judicial proceedings were immediately prior to the commencement of this Constitution subject to their personal law," including marriage and divorce, adoption, infants and minors, wills, intestacy, and succession, joint families, and partition.

The Indian Constitution's fundamental rights to personal liberty and religious freedom may be violated by the draft report of UCC. Critics claim that the draft report of UCC imposes a single code that might not be appropriate for many communities' customs and practices, and it disregards India's plurality and pluralism. The rights and interests of Uttarakhand's STs may be impacted by the UCC draft report. According to some activists, the UCC draft report may weaken the STs' sense of cultural identity and autonomy by failing to sufficiently address their problems and goals.

KEY PROVISIONS OF THE BILL:

Applicability of the Bill

All citizens of Uttarakhand are covered by it, with the exception of the state's tribal population.
According to Section 2 of the Bill, "Nothing contained in this code shall apply to the persons and group of persons whose customary rights are protected under Part XXI of the Constitution of India and the members of any Scheduled Tribes within the meaning of clause (25) of Article 366 read with Article 142 of the Constitution of India."

·       Marriage Provisions

The bill requires all marriages to be registered within 60 days following the wedding. Regardless of whether they marry inside or outside the state, all Uttarakhand residents are covered by this clause. Marriages that are not registered are not null and void, however, the involved parties may be fined Rs 10,000. Providing incorrect information on purpose could result in a fine of Rs 25,000 and a three-month prison sentence. Without a court decree, a marriage cannot be dissolved and may result in up to three years in jail.

·       Criminalization of some marriage practices

This Bill forbids, without naming the parties involved, certain marital customs that are common in the Muslim community, including triple talaq and nikah-halala. For example, by allowing a person to remarry his divorced spouse without any restrictions, Section 30(1) of the Law abolishes the practice of nikah-halala.

·       Live-in relationships in UCC (The most Discussed Provision)

Whether or not the man and woman in question are citizens of Uttarakhand, they shall be obliged to declare any live relationship within the state's jurisdiction. If cohabiting couples fail to provide their statement, they will receive a notification before any criminal charges are brought against them.

Only a formal statement to that effect may be submitted by partners to end the partnership. If their live-in partner deserts them, women can file maintenance claims with the appropriate court. Offspring resulting from these kinds of partnerships will be regarded as legal.

·       Queer relationship

The Bill solely covers heterosexual relationships and excludes members of the LGBTQIA+ community from its purview.  It provides that a live-in relationship as a "relationship between a man and a woman" who cohabit in a shared household through a partnership similar to marriage, despite the fact that it employs gender-neutral terminology like "partners."

·       Bigamy or Polygamy prohibition

As per Section 4 of the bill, no party entering into a new marriage should be married to someone who is still alive at the time of the marriage. As a result, bigamy and polygamy are forbidden.

·       The legal acknowledgement of minors

The idea of "illegitimate children" has been eliminated by this bill. The new law recognizes live-in relationships and children born out of voidable marriages legally.

·       Law related to inheritance in UCC

Before the UCC, the law of inheritance in Uttarakhand and the rest of India was different based on the religion of the deceased. The Hindu Succession Act of 1956 governs inheritances for Hindus in the State; the Indian Succession Act of 1925 applies to Christians and their descendants, while personal law covers Muslims living in the States.

All children, including those who born by the method of surrogacy or assisted by reproductive technologies and adopted children or illegitimate children, are guaranteed equal property rights as per the Bill. The Hindu Succession Act of 1956's coparcener’s system managing ancestral property is eliminated.

In the absence of registered wills, this Bill seeks to replace existing domestic law by guaranteeing equitable property rights for spouses, children and parents in a case of intestate succession.

·           Divorce proceedings in the Bill

    Women and men have equal rights in divorce proceedings. Divorce can be granted for a variety of reasons, such as infidelity, cruelty, abandonment, religious conversion, mental illness, etc. The concept of "irretrievable breakdown of marriage," which describes a situation, in which a couple's relationship has deteriorated so badly that it is no longer relevant for the continuation of the marriage, is not acknowledged.

In addition, there may be a variety of reasons for annulling "voidable" marriages, such as the absence of consent and failure to comply with union agreements.

Under the Bill, women can only file for divorce in two specific situations:

1. If their husband has been found guilty of rape or any other form of unnatural sexual offence;  

2. If there is more than one wife or their husband.

In the case of divorce, the mother shall continue to have custody of the children under the age of five years. In any event, the court-appointed guardianship will continue to be governed by the Guardians and Wards Act of 1890.

     THE CONSEQUENCES OF UCC BILL 2024

         POSITIVE:

• Gender Equality: This measure could advance gender equality by doing away with discriminatory provisions found in many personal laws, particularly concerning maintenance and inheritance. It might also deal with discriminatory practices, such as polygamy.
• Legal System Simplification: The legal system could be made more effective and approachable by streamlining personal laws among various groups.
• National Integration: Eliminating distinctions based on religious personal laws, could promote a sense of national oneness.

          

        NEGATIVE:

• Minority Communities: Opponents worry that the minority communities, whose customs and cultural identities may be ignored, will be disproportionately impacted by the bill. It might give rise to questions regarding the protection of distinctive traditions and religious liberty.
  
• Fundamental Challenges: Several fundamental rights, notably equality before the law and freedom of religion, may be infringed by the bill, according to some legal experts. This can result in implementation delays and legal challenges.
• Social Tensions: If minority rights issues are not sufficiently addressed, putting the measure into effect may make social tensions between various populations worse.

ISSUES WITH THE UTTARAKHAND UCC BILL

1.     Infringement of Privacy Rights: The rules requiring live-in relationships to be registered may violate the right to privacy and the right to a dignified life, which are protected by Article 21.

2.     LGBTQIA+ Rights: Concerns regarding LGBTQIA+ rights and legal equality are brought to light by the UCC's exclusion of gay partnerships. Because the UCC defines live-in partnerships as being between a man and a woman, it could continue to discriminate against LGBTQIA+ people and relationships in general.

There are concerns over inclusion and equitable treatment under the law regarding the exclusion of Aboriginal communities from the UCC. While some contend that tribal communities ought to be permitted to preserve their traditional ways of life, others doubt the equity of holding various groups within the same communities to distinct legal norms.

Concerns about Surveillance: The Bill's surveillance-related clauses may be used to intimidate and persecute couples who practice different religions or castes.
Women of color and marginalized groups: A few of the bill's sections raise concerns about how they might influence the traditional practices and cultural identities of minority populations. It also has an impact on women who depend on traditional support systems from marginalized communities

Legal issues and challenges: Some opponents’ measures claim is that it may infringe on rights guaranteed by the constitution, particularly equality before the law and freedom of religion. Legal difficulties may arise later as a result of these worries.

CONCLUSION

The emergence of a UCC can only occur by an evolutionary process that preserves the rich tradition of Indian law, which includes all personal laws as equal elements.
UCC bill enforcement may not always bring about the expected equality of genders and religions. Large-scale awareness campaigns are necessary to alter the current personal law reforms, but communities themselves should take the initiative in this area.
The present institutions need to be strengthened, democratized, and updated to get ready for this change. To empower women of all religions, real efforts must be made.
Plural democracy is one feature of modern India. Hence, rather than rigid conformity, efforts should be focused on harmony in multiplicity for an Indian democracy to prosper.

Individuals' fundamental rights are violated by the Uniform Civil Code Bill 2024, which mandates registration and may criminalize live-in relationships. The Bill disregards the distinctive characteristics of cohabitation by eliminating the differentiation between it and marriage. Couples are not only made to feel less confident by this action but their right to privacy and autonomy is also infringed. A democratic society must prioritize the values of equality, privacy, and autonomy over the imposition of arbitrary boundaries on interpersonal connections.

REFERENCES

1.https://www.nextias.com

2.https://economictimes.indiatimes.com

3.https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/towards-uniformity-on-the-ucc-adopted-by-the-uttarakhand-assembly/article67825238.ece

4.https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/uttarakhand-ucc-draft-report