KOLKATA: The West Bengal government, headed by the Chief Minister, has formed a nine-member committee under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai to review the draft Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, taking the BJP's electoral promise a step closer to becoming law in the state.
The eight other members of the committee are Tathagata Roy, former Governor of Meghalaya; Dushyant Nariala, IAS and Resident Commissioner; Shatrughna Singh, retired IAS officer; Sanghamitra Ghosh, Principal Secretary, Home Department; Dr Ratna Bhattacharya, retired Associate Professor of Bangabasi College; Gopal Chandra Mishra, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gour Banga; Osman Gani Mullick, advocate at the Calcutta High Court; and Nirmalya Bhattacharyya, former Executive Director of Sambhag.
The state Judicial Department issued a notification in this regard on July 10.
State Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal held a meeting with Justice Desai, chairperson of the committee, in New Delhi on Thursday before the notification was issued by the Judicial Department.
"...the State Government has already formulated a Draft Bill, namely, the Uniform Civil Code, West Bengal, 2026, with a view to putting in place a comprehensive legal framework for all citizens who are residents of the State, irrespective of their religion, faith or community, concerning critical aspects of personal civil matters such as marriage, divorce, intestate succession and testamentary succession," the notification states.
On July 2, the Suvendu Adhikari Cabinet approved the formation of a committee led by Justice Desai to review the draft UCC Bill.
Justice Desai has chaired similar UCC panels in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh.
The panel will have four weeks to scrutinise the draft legislation and submit its recommendations, after which it will be placed before the Legislative Assembly.
Suvendu had made an official announcement in the Assembly in this regard. In West Bengal, the proposed UCC legislation will follow the Gujarat UCC Bill, 2026 model, the Assam UCC Act and the Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code Act, 2024.
"The committee will submit its report within four weeks and the UCC Bill will be presented in the Assembly in August following the recommendations of the committee," Suvendu had announced in the House, adding, "The Adivasis, Kurmis and other recognised indigenous tribal communities will be kept out of the provisions of the proposed legislation."
"The implementation of the proposed UCC legislation was an electoral promise in the Bharatiya Janata Party's Sankalpa Patra (election manifesto). We are determined to fulfil that promise. We will implement what we have mentioned in the Sankalpa Patra. The UCC will also be implemented in West Bengal," Suvendu had said in the House.
According to him, there would be a uniform legal framework across the state instead of separate religion-based personal laws.
The committee will conduct surveys on the existing laws relating to marriage, divorce, live-in relationships, adoption and succession.
The rebel Trinamool Congress MLAs, led by Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, opposed the proposal to introduce the UCC Bill while Suvendu was addressing the Assembly.
Political analysts in the city believe the move to introduce the UCC Bill is likely to trigger intense political and legal debate in the state, with opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress led by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, having previously expressed concerns over the UCC, arguing that personal laws are closely linked to religious freedoms and community identities.