U'khand Assembly Convenes to Give Nod to UCC Bill; Ruckus Between BJP & Cong Over Lord Ram's Skin Colour | Top Points

A day after the Uniform Civil Code was tabled by the Uttarakhand government led by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in the state legislative Assembly, the bill is likely to be passed on Wednesday, February 7. The Uttarakhand Assembly session proceedings began at 11 am.

The UCC bill proposes a common law on marriage, divorce, land, property, and inheritance for all citizens irrespective of their religion in the state, excluding the Scheduled Tribes.

• Soon after the session proceedings began on Wednesday, a ruckus between the BJP and Congress MLAs was witnessed in the Assembly over the skin colour of Lord Ram.
• The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday tabled the Uniform Civil Code Bill in the state Assembly, the first such move in any state after Independence. The step is likely to be followed by similar legislation in other BJP-run states such as Gujarat and Assam.
• After the bill was tabled in Uttarakhand Assembly on Tuesday, the Leader of Opppsition, Yashpal Arya suggested that the bill should be sent to the select committee of the House to examine its provisions.

• The UCC Bill proposes a common law on marriage, divorce, land, property and inheritance for all citizens irrespective of their religion in Uttarakhand, excluding the Scheduled Tribes.
• The bill stipulates registration of live-in relationships in the state and imprisonment of three months for failure to do so within a month. Any child born out of such a relationship will be considered legitimate.
• The Bill makes it obligatory for partners of a live-in relationship within the state, whether they are residents of Uttarakhand or not, to submit a statement of their relationship under sub-section (1) of Section 381 to the Registrar within whose jursidiction they are living in a prescribed format.
• Under Section 4(i) of the bill, polygamy and polyandry has been disallowed.Sub-section (iii) of the above section fixes the age of marriage at 18 years for girls and 21 for boys.
• The bill also disallows marriage with individuals whose relationship has been mentioned in the exception list. This includes people who have common ancestors, or relationship between a man and his widowed daughter-in-law.
• Section 30 of the UCC Bill bans the practice of halala or marrying and divorcing a second man before remarrying the first husband. Section 30(ii) states: “The right to remarry includes the right to remarry the divorced spouse without conditions, such as getting married to a third person before such remarriage”.