Jail for ‘illegal’ live-in: MP Cabinet clears UCC draft Bill, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• The Madhya Pradesh Cabinet approved the draft Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill on Sunday.
• The Bill proposes a common civil law for all residents, banning polygamy and criminalizing practices like triple talaq.
• It mandates that couples in live-in relationships must declare their status, with potential imprisonment for non-compliance.
• The legislation exempts Scheduled Tribes (STs) covered under Articles 342 and 366 (25) of the Constitution.
• A committee led by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Desai prepared the draft Bill.

Detailed Insights:

• Couples in a live-in relationship are legally required to file a declaration with the registrar within one month of cohabitation.
• Penalties for not registering include three months’ imprisonment or a fine of Rs 10,000.
• Children born from live-in relationships will be granted full inheritance rights under the proposed law.
• Women in live-in relationships can claim maintenance through a competent court if deserted by their partner.
• The Bill establishes monogamy as the norm and fixes the minimum marriage age at 21 years for men and 18 years for women.
• Oral divorce and decisions by informal panchayats are declared entirely illegal, with marriage dissolution only on statutory grounds.
• Practices like nikah halala are treated as punishable criminal offenses under the new draft.
• The Bill ensures equal inheritance rights for sons and daughters, and equal treatment for widows and widowers in property matters.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Uniform Civil Code (UCC): A common set of laws governing personal matters like marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption for all citizens, irrespective of religion.
• Live-in Relationship: An arrangement where two people, who are not married, live together in a long-term intimate relationship.
• Triple Talaq: An Islamic practice allowing a Muslim man to divorce his wife by uttering the word "talaq" three times.
• Nikah Halala: A practice where a divorced Muslim woman must marry another man, consummate the marriage, and then divorce him to remarry her previous husband.