Gujarat UCC expert panel to submit report, draft law today, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• A five-member expert committee in Gujarat is set to submit its report and a draft law on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) on Tuesday.
• The draft law mirrors the Uttarakhand UCC Act and is expected to be presented during the ongoing Budget Session of the Gujarat Assembly, which commenced on February 16.
• If approved, Gujarat will become the second state, following Uttarakhand, to implement a common civil code.
• The proposed law in Gujarat includes chapters on Marriage & Divorce, Succession, and Live-in Relations.

Detailed Insights:

• The Gujarat government established the expert committee in February 2025 to evaluate the necessity of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
• The proposed UCC law in Gujarat will incorporate clauses for punishments, unlike the Uttarakhand UCC law, where they were included in the rules and regulations.
• The marriageable age for girls will remain at 18 years, and the law ensures equal property rights for girls, prohibits polygamy, and mandates the registration of marriages, live-in relationships, divorces, and termination of live-in relationships.
• Similar to the Uttarakhand law, the Gujarat UCC bans practices like nikah halala and mandatory iddat, while enforcing monogamy across all religions.
• The Gujarat government has also proposed a law to make parental consent compulsory for marriages during the ongoing Assembly session.
• The expert panel, led by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Desai, included former IAS officer C L Meena, advocate R C Kodekar, educationist Dakshesh Thaker, and social worker Geetaben Shroff.
• The committee conducted physical hearings in all districts of Gujarat and consulted with various social and religious organizations, political leaders, and other stakeholders.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Uniform Civil Code (UCC): A set of laws governing personal matters like marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption for all citizens, irrespective of religion.
• Nikah Halala: A practice where a divorced Muslim woman must marry and divorce another man before remarrying her former husband.
• Iddat: A mandatory waiting period in Islamic law that a woman must observe after the dissolution of her marriage.