Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami speaks during a special session of the State Assembly in Dehradun on February 7, 2024.| Photo Credit: PTI

The Uttarakhand Assembly passed the State’s Uniform Civil Code on Wednesday, despite the Opposition’s demand that the Bill should be handed over to the House’s select committee first.

Terming it a “historic moment”, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that Assembly had become the first legislature in independent India to pass a Bill that imposes common rules for all communities — except Scheduled Tribes — on marriage, divorce, inheritances, and live-in relationships.

In his final address before the Speaker Ritu Khanduri Bhushan called for a voice vote on the UCC Bill, Mr. Dhami said that the legislation would end the injustice faced by women for centuries. Mentioning the Shah Bano and Saira Bano cases, the CM said that anti-social elements wanted to keep different communities divided for political benefits; this too will now end in Uttarakhand with the UCC giving equal rights to everyone, he said.

‘Mistakes in the Constitution’

Referencing Baba Bhim Rao Ambedkar, Mr. Dhami claimed that certain clauses mentioned in the Constitution were misused from time to time by certain anti-social, anti-national people.

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“....certain mistakes were done in the Indian Constitution which now need to be corrected,” he said, listing other countries such as Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Japan, the United States, Canada, Bangladesh and Indonesia that have implemented a uniform civil code. Times are changing for India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he added.

‘Refer to select committee’

Congress MLAs insisted that they were not opposing the UCC Bill, but claimed that its provisions need to be examined in detail so that any flaws can be removed before it is passed. Tilak Raj Behar, the Congress MLA from Kichcha, said that Article 44 of the Constitution, which is the basis of the Bill, refers to the UCC in the context of the whole country and not just one State.

“We are not opposing the Bill or its passage, but it should be referred to a select committee of the House before it is passed,” he said, further questioning how the government would ensure that the Bill will not misused, and that women would not be tortured. “Now, with UCC in place, the in-laws of the woman can force her to take up a legal fight with her parents for property. The in-laws can harass the woman even now. How will you ensure their security,” he asked.

Tribals excluded

Pointing out a contradiction in the Bill, Adesh Singh Chauhan, the Congress MLA from Jaspur, said the Bill leaves the tribal population out of its ambit, even while claiming that it would apply to the whole of the State. “If it leaves the tribes of Uttarakhand out of its purview, how can it be said to extend to the whole of the State? Hence, I would propose that the Bill be referred to a select committee of the House,” Mr. Chauhan said.

The State’s UCC is based on a draft submitted by a committee formed by the Uttarakhand government under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. The Bill was one of the BJP’s poll promises during the 2022 Assembly election campaign in Uttarakhand.

‘Why is HUF exempt?’

Asaduddin Owaisi, president of All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen, said that the Bill was nothing but a Hindu Code, made applicable for all. “Firstly, Hindu Undivided Family has not been touched. Why? If you want a uniform law for succession and inheritance, why are Hindus kept out of it? Can a law be uniform if it doesn’t apply to the majority of your State?” he asked.

Claiming that there were constitutional and legal issues with the Bill, he questioned why tribals have been excluded from its authority.

Mr. Owaisi also claimed that the BJP government has submitted in the Supreme Courtthat that the UCC can only be enacted by Parliament. He added that this Bill contradicted Central laws like the Shariah Act, the Hindu Marriage Act and the Special Marriage Act.