BHOPAL: Aiming to safeguard the interests of women and children across all religious communities in matters of marriage, divorce, inheritance, succession and live-in relationships, the Madhya Pradesh cabinet on Sunday approved the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) 2026 Bill, which will be introduced during the five-day monsoon session of the Vidhan Sabha beginning Monday.
The proposed UCC has been drafted by a seven-member high-level committee over more than two months after consultations with cross-sections of society across all 51 districts of the state and an in-depth study of the UCCs enacted in three other BJP-ruled states -- Uttarakhand (2024), Gujarat (2026) and Assam (2026).
While the proposed UCC will not apply to Scheduled Tribes (at least 21 per cent of Madhya Pradesh's population belongs to tribal communities) and communities whose traditional rights are protected under Part XXI of the Constitution, it focuses on completely banning polygamy by making monogamy mandatory across all religious communities.
"Second marriage will be allowed only when the first marriage has ended through legal and not oral divorce," Chief Minister Mohan Yadav told journalists after the special cabinet meeting held in Jagdishpur village (formerly Islam Nagar) on the outskirts of Bhopal on Sunday.
The proposed UCC fixes the minimum marriage age at 21 years for men and 18 years for women. Marriages based on invalid consent or within prohibited degrees of relationship (unless permitted by custom) are prohibited. It also makes registration of marriages and divorces compulsory.
In urban areas, the process will be completed through Madhya Pradesh's e-Municipality portal, while in rural areas it will be handled by the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), municipality or village panchayat.
Oral divorce and decisions by informal community councils have been declared entirely illegal. The proposed UCC states that a marriage can be dissolved only on clear and legally recognised grounds specified by law. Unlike the existing system, women will have the right to seek annulment of a marriage if their husband had impregnated another woman at the time of the marriage.
The UCC also proposes a ban on exploitative practices, including accepting, promoting or forcing degrading conditions such as "Nikah Halala" for remarrying the same spouse after divorce. Such practices will be treated as punishable criminal offences.
On the lines of the UCCs already enacted by the three other BJP-ruled states, the proposed UCC in Madhya Pradesh also provides for mandatory registration of live-in relationships. Every couple in a live-in relationship must submit a "Statement of Live-in Relationship" to the registrar within one month of beginning to live together.
Both partners must be at least 18 years of age, must not fall within prohibited degrees of relationship, must not already be married, and their consent must be free and voluntary. If either partner is below 21 years of age, information regarding the commencement and termination of the live-in relationship will be sent to their parents or guardians. The registrar will also forward the record to the local police station.
Children born from a live-in relationship will be considered legitimate and will enjoy full inheritance rights. If the male partner abandons the woman, she may claim maintenance (alimony) through the competent court in the same manner as a legally wedded wife.
Living together for more than one month without registration may result in imprisonment of up to three months or a fine of Rs 10,000. Providing false information may attract three months' imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000. Failure to submit the required statement even after receiving notice from the registrar may result in imprisonment of up to six months and a fine of Rs 25,000.
"In case either of the live-in partners is found to be legally married (not divorced), then the concerned partner could have to face punishment of up to five years in jail. The proposed UCC will ensure that whether it's Ram (Hindu), Rahim (Muslim), Ravindra (Sikh) or Robin (Christian), their marriage, divorce, inheritance and succession are governed by a common civil code," the Chief Minister maintained.
The proposed code also takes a progressive step by completely removing the term "illegitimate" from the legal framework. All children -- whether born to married or unmarried parents, biological, adopted, born through surrogacy or assisted reproductive technology (ART) -- will enjoy equal legal status.
In any custody dispute, the child's welfare and overall well-being will be the primary and mandatory consideration for the court, overriding the rights of the parents. Sons and daughters will have equal inheritance rights regardless of their marital status. Widows and widowers will also receive equal treatment in the deceased's estate. Both the surviving mother and father will be treated as Class I heirs and receive equal shares in the deceased child's property alongside the spouse and children.
The estate of a person dying intestate (without a legally valid will) will be distributed progressively among three categories -- Class I, Class II and other relatives. A "unit system" and the "right of survivorship" have been introduced for earlier generations.
A person convicted of murdering the property owner or assisting in the murder will be permanently disqualified from inheriting. If there is no legal heir, the property will vest in the State under the principle of escheat.
Under a new secular system, any adult of sound mind may bequeath 100 per cent of their property -- both self-acquired and ancestral -- to anyone through a will. This removes previous restrictions on mandatory succession, such as the one-third limitation under Islamic law. The process will be governed by the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
