In consultation with Law Commission: Arjun Meghwal on Uniform Civil Code

As the Uniform Civil Code Bill is to be tabled in the Uttarakhand assembly session tomorrow, Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said that the Uniform Civil Code is in the consultation process and being reviewed by the Law Commission of India.

"This is not just the issue of the Centre; the makers of the Constitution had discussed this even when the Constitution was being made...Right now, this matter is under consideration with the Law Commission of India and is in the consultation process. The states can fix it or improve it, and the government of Goa has already worked on UCC. The Uttarakhand government has approved this in the cabinet and as soon as we get a report by the Law Commission, we will inform you..." said Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Monday that the state UCC Bill is the outcome of public dialogue, deliberation, and suggestions.

For the drafting of the Uniform Civil Code Bill, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister shared a graphic listing 72 meetings that were held by 5 member committees, adding 43 public outreach programs and 2.32 lakh suggestions that were received by the committee.

Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Assembly session will begin on Monday in Vidhan Bhavan, Dehradun, at 11 am.

In this special session of the Assembly, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami's government will table the Uniform Civil Code Bill tomorrow, February 6.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill will be tabled in the upcoming session of the Assembly after a draft report related to UCC got approved at a Cabinet meeting on Sunday.

The UCC proposes uniform civil laws for all communities in the state.

"In the cabinet meeting on Sunday, a proposal to bring a bill on Uniform Civil Code in the upcoming Assembly session was unanimously passed. We will table it in the Assembly. We will move forward in the direction to make it an Act," Chief Minister Dhami told ANI.

Earlier, a draft of the UCC was handed over to the Chief Minister by the five-member committee headed by retired Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai.

The UCC drafting panel also comprised retired justice Pramod Kohli, social activist Manu Gaur, former Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Shatrughan Singh and Vice Chancellor of Doon University, Surekha Dangwal. The drafting panel was given a total of four extensions.

The UCC will provide a legal framework for uniform marriage, divorce, land, property and inheritance laws for all citizens, irrespective of their religion.

The passage of the UCC Bill will mark the fulfillment of a major promise made by the BJP to the people of the state in the run-up to the 2022 Assembly polls.

Earlier, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami informed that the draft report consists of 740 pages and has four volumes, which include suggestions from 2,33,000 people in the state.

"The village, which is known as the last village of India, was referred to by the PM as the first village, so the committee started the work of taking suggestions from their only, and other 43 places. A total of 2,33,000 people gave suggestions on it which includes 10 per of the families of Uttarakhand," Chief Minister Dhami said.

At its very first meeting in the second term, in March 2022, the Dhami government decided to constitute a committee to prepare a draft for the UCC.