Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami tabled the Uniform Civil Code Bill today in the state assembly. The Bill aims to provide equal rights to the residents of the state irrespective of their religion, caste, socioeconomic status, and gender.
Here are some of the key highlights of the Bill:
No more discrimination in inheritance laws
The Bill states that despite set laws, there are still some irregularities and bias observed in the process of inheritance and will. For example, a father doesn’t get the right to claim a share in his child’s property in case of the demise of the said child. Only the mother, wife and children have the right, but not the father. The Bill aims to change that.
Similarly, the children of a deceased person get different inheritance rights based on their gender, even married and unmarried daughters have different rights. The new Bill seeks to change that and bring uniformity in inheritance rights of all children of a person regardless of their gender and marital status.
Similarly, female children still face gender-based discrimination in inheritance of agricultural land, the Bill says, and asserts that all disparities have been addressed in the Bill.
‘No child is illegitimate, even if the relationship between a man and woman was not legitimate or legal’
The Bill says that the consensual relationship between a man and a woman can be termed legitimate or illegitimate based on social norms, but a child is never ‘illegitimate’. The Bill seeks to grant equal rights in inheritance to a child born outside of socially acceptable or ‘legitimate’ relationships. The Bill seeks to provide respect and equal inheritance rights to such children, asserting that the child born is always innocent, regardless of the social or legal sanctity, or the circumstances of the relationship between the parents.
In Section 55, the Bill also defines the rights of a fetus in inheritance laws and ensures that the yet-to-be-born child of a person gets equal rights in parental property after the person’s demise.
‘Shravan Kumar and Aurangzeb cannot have the same rights on parental property’
The Bill states that while some children take good care of their aged parents, some do not do so and there are some children who go to the extent of even hurting or killing their parents to claim parental property. Section 58 of the Bill includes provisions to ensure that any person who kills a parent can never claim inheritance in parental property.
Addressing the disparities and hurdles in making a last will and testament, the Bill also ensures that any person can make a will and decide the inheritance of their assets as per their choice and if they want to, they can choose any person as their heir and divide their assets as per their own will and judgment at any point of time in their life. They can even dismiss or withdraw an existing will in their name. As with other laws, the provisions are equally applicable to all residents of the state regardless of their religion, caste, or gender.
Rules on marriage, marriageable age, and ‘no legal validity to same-sex marriage’
The bill states the minimum age for marriage is 21 for a boy and 18 for a girl. Additionally, the Bill states clearly that only the marriage between a man and a woman is considered legal. Also, a man or a woman cannot marry another person while their spouse is alive, or they are divorced. Instant Talaq, Nikah Halala, and remarriage without divorce have been completely restricted in the new Bill. Social ills like Iddat and Halala should be ended, the Bill states. Polygamy, allowed in India under Muslim Personal Law, has been banned across all religions.
Also, a partner can seek divorce and claim maintenance if they are forced to change their religion after marriage, the Bill states.
Registration of marriage has been made mandatory. Registration of a marriage can be done in Gram Panchayat, NAC, Municipality, District or state level. A dedicated web portal has been started that will simplify the process and help couples understand the registration process.
Couples who have not registered their marriage can no longer claim the benefits of government schemes meant for couples and families. Though an unregistered marriage cannot be deemed invalid, the provision restricting government schemes to registered marriages only is added to encourage registrations of marriages, the Bill adds.
Child marriage, polygamy, Triple Talaq, Devdasi, and dowry are all banned
The Bill emphasizes that women have been the worst victims of the lack of a Uniform Civil Code for all religions, because many social evils like Devdasi, child marriage, Triple Talaq, and Halala, flourish under the garb of ‘religious practice’. Ultimately, such social evils only target women and keep them deprived of their legitimate rights as citizens of India.
UCC can help long-pending legal cases reach a conclusion and change the deplorable conditions where many women, especially Muslim women find themselves, due to the existing social evils under ‘religious sanction’, the Bill states.
Rules for live-in relationships
Asserting that live-in relationships are increasing despite the socio-cultural norms of the conservative Indian family system, the Bill states that it is trying to ensure that the future and safety of young persons do not get jeopardised.
The Bill states that all live-in relationships will have to be registered and the minimum age for the woman is 18 years. Also, if the boy or the girl entering into a live-in relationship is younger than 21, the parents of both persons will have to be given a notification for registration of the live-in relationship, so that they are aware of the status of the relationship and the location of the place where their ward is living.
The Bill states that the provisions have been kept to prevent exploitation, adultery, and abuse, and to protect the rights of any child born out of a live-in relationship. At the same time, the provision will ensure that any person entering into a live-in relationship is well aware of the name, identity, and religious affiliation of the partner they are going to live with.
The BJP holds a comfortable majority in the Uttarakhand assembly. The Bill is expected to pass.
