DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand Assembly on Wednesday passed the Uniform Civil Code Bill, which may serve as template for other BJP-run states to enact similar legislation.
The Bill, which was passed by voice vote, was introduced in the BJP-majority assembly a day earlier and the opposition had suggested that it should be sent to a select committee of the House first.
Once the Bill gets the governor's consent, Uttarakhand will become the first state after independence to get a common law on marriage, divorce, land, property and inheritance for all citizens, irrespective of their religion.
Speaking on the Bill before its passage, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said it is not ordinary legislation. The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will create equal laws for men and women across all faiths and will help create a non-partisan and non-discriminatory society, he said.
It will especially protect the rights of women and put an end to their exploitation, Dhami said.
"It fulfils a commitment we had made to the people of the state in the run-up to the 2022 assembly polls," the chief minister said.
It is a small contribution from Uttarakhand to building of a developed India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dhami said.
The Uniform Civil Code aims to provide the same rights to individuals across communities in their personal matters, such as inheritance and marriage.
India currently has community-specific laws in these matters, under which the laws that apply to a person depend on the community into which that person is born into.
The bill mandates the registration of live-in relationships. Children born of live-in relationships will be considered legitimate, and deserted women will be entitled to maintenance from their partners.
