AHMEDABAD: In a politically significant move, the Gujarat government has accelerated efforts to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the State.
A high-level committee led by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai met with Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi in Gandhinagar on August 5, signalling fast-track action on the draft law.
The committee, tasked with assessing the feasibility and framework of a Common Civil Code for Gujarat, is now in its final phase, with Desai confirming that the report will be ready within a month, ruling out the need for any extension.
Speculation is rife that the UCC could be notified ahead of the upcoming municipal corporation elections, giving the BJP government a potential ideological edge in the urban polls.
A crucial meeting was held in Gandhinagar today between UCC Committee Chairperson Justice (Retd) Ranjana Desai and committee members with Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi.
Speaking after the meeting, Justice Desai said, “We met the Governor on August 4 and the Chief Minister on August 5 in a formal interaction. While the exact date for submitting the report is yet to be fixed, it is likely to be submitted this month. As of now, there seems to be no need for an extension.”
Justice Ranjana Desai has stated that there is “no need for an extension now.”
In light of this, sources indicate that the Gujarat government is likely to implement the Uniform Civil Code soon after receiving the committee’s report, possibly ahead of the local body elections slated for later this year or early next year.
The UCC committee, originally tasked with submitting its report within 45 days, has overshot the deadline due to an unexpectedly high volume of public responses. Gujarat government spokesperson and cabinet minister Hrishikesh Patel attributed the delay to the scale of submissions received.
“This was a formal meeting. The report will be submitted to the Chief Minister in about a month or slightly more,” Patel said. “We received nearly 1.5 lakh submissions. Although the government had set a 45-day deadline, it took longer to collect inputs from various communities and social groups, and to compile their views and conclusions.”
Notably, the government had invited objections and suggestions from individuals and organisations on the proposed UCC. In a major push on the final day of the process, April 15, as many as 96,165 objections were submitted in Gandhinagar by Muslim community leaders from South Gujarat.