The Uttarakhand Cabinet approved the Uniform Civil Code rules during a meeting at the state secretariat on Monday, said Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

He added that the code would be implemented in January itself.

A Uniform Civil Code is a common set of laws governing marriage, divorce, succession and adoption for all citizens. Currently, such personal affairs of different religious and tribal groups are based on community-specific laws, largely derived from religious scripture.

Once implemented, Uttarakhand will become the first Indian state to have a Uniform Civil Code after Independence. A common civil code has been in place in Goa since the Portuguese Civil Code was adopted in 1867.

The rules manual approved on Monday includes provisions for tatkal registration, door-to-door services in remote areas and a state-wide mock drill on January 21, The Indian Express reported quoting unidentified officials.

Online portals have been developed for both citizens and officials, offering Aadhaar-based verification and AI-driven translation services in 22 Indian languages, according to the newspaper. The portals will reportedly integrate data across more than 13 government departments, including those relating to birth and death registrations and various courts.

The Uttarakhand Cabinet approved the Uniform Civil Code draft report in a meeting chaired by Dhami on February 5, 2024.

Two days later, the Assembly passed the Bill by voice vote after a debating it for two days. Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh, the state’s governor, approved the legislation on February 28 last year.

After this, the state government on February 24 formed a Rules Making and Implementation Committee.

On March 14, Dhami announced that President Droupadi Murmu had approved Uttarakhand’s Uniform Civil Code Bill.

The aim of the Uniform Civil Code is to ensure equality and justice for women who may otherwise be denied their rights under patriarchal personal laws, Uttarakhand’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has claimed.

The introduction of a common personal law has for long been on the BJP’s agenda and several states ruled by the party have been making advances towards implementing it. The implementation of the rules in Uttarakhand could potentially set a precedent for other BJP-ruled states to follow suit.

In its campaign for a Uniform Civil Code, the BJP has mainly targeted Muslim personal law, arguing that it discriminates against women as it allows Muslim men to practice polygamy, inherit a greater share of property, initiate divorce and deny alimony.

However, legal experts have said that the bill is primarily drawn from Hindu personal law and could lead to the erasure of the personal law practices of minority communities.

The Uttarkahand Mahila Morcha, a collective of women’s groups, had criticised the bill for “[following] the Hindu law template.” In a public statement, it noted that the bill is “completely silent on the application of Christian family law and Parsi family law”, describing this as “legally untenable”.

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