BHOPAL: A special Madhya Pradesh cabinet meeting will be held in Jagdishpur village (formerly known as Islamnagar) on the outskirts of Bhopal on Saturday to approve the draft Uniform Civil Code (UCC) before it is introduced as a Bill during the monsoon session of the Vidhan Sabha, beginning on July 20.
The announcement was made by Madhya Pradesh Cabinet Minister Chetanya Kumar Kashyap while briefing reporters on the decisions taken at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting.
Three members of the six-member panel tasked with drafting Madhya Pradesh's UCC submitted their three-volume report, including the draft Bill, to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Monday. Speaking a day later, Yadav urged the opposition Congress to clarify its stand on the proposed UCC.
"Be it the UCC or the Dhar Bhojshala issue, Congress always takes a stand based on Hindu-Muslim votes. Representatives of all religious communities expressed their viewpoints and concerns before the high-level committee in the recent past, but Congress, as a political party, didn't present its stand clearly on the issue on the state level. So, Congress needs to make its stand clear on the important issue," Yadav said.
According to the state government, the report has been forwarded to the Law Department. After refinement of the draft Bill and examination by a committee of senior secretaries, the proposed legislation will be placed before the Council of Ministers for approval and is expected to be introduced during the monsoon session of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly, scheduled from July 20 to July 24.
The high-level committee, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, has recommended keeping Scheduled Tribes outside the purview of the proposed UCC. Scheduled Tribes account for about 21% of Madhya Pradesh's population.
According to sources, the draft also recommends compulsory registration of live-in relationships. Failure to register such relationships could attract legal consequences.
In cases where live-in partners decide to separate, the draft proposes a similar registration-based process before the concerned registrar.
Sources also said the draft proposes full inheritance rights for children born out of live-in relationships.
The committee submitted its report in three volumes.
The second volume contains the draft Bill, prepared in accordance with the laws and rules currently in force in Madhya Pradesh. The proposed draft comprises four parts, 404 sections and seven schedules.
The first volume contains the committee's recommendations based on an analysis of international, national and state laws, as well as prevailing practices. The recommendations have been presented in 10 chapters.
The third volume contains the public consultation report, detailing consultations conducted at the district and state levels, as well as through the committee's dedicated website. The committee received more than 9.58 lakh public responses, and the volume includes a detailed analysis of the feedback by questionnaire, gender and community.
"The Committee prepared the draft after taking into account the social, cultural and economic conditions of Madhya Pradesh. The Committee has based its recommendations on the principles of ensuring gender equality, preserving diverse customary and ceremonial practices, respecting prevailing customs and traditions, and adhering to constitutional provisions and public policy," the state government's statement said.