Tenure of UCC draft committee extended by another 15 days, says Uttarakhand CM Dhami

The tenure of the committee headed by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai has already been extended three times earlier, with the latest being an extension of four months in September last year.

Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday said that the tenure of the expert committee preparing the draft of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for the state has been extended by 15 days.

The Uttarakhand Chief Minister was addressing the media during the 75th Republic Day function at his residence in Dehradun, where he also unfurled the national flag.

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“UCC committee has almost completed its task. A little more time is needed to compile it and complete some other formalities, so the time-period has been extended by 15 days. We are going to get the draft soon. As soon as we get it, we will take further steps and convene an Assembly session,” the Uttarakhand Chief Minister said.

The tenure of the committee headed by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai has already been extended three times earlier, with the latest being an extension of four months in September last year.

A statement by the Chief Minister’s office on September 23 last year said, “The Uttarakhand government has extended the tenure of the expert committee for the Uniform Civil Code by four months.” The panel was constituted on May 27, 2022, and it is the fourth time an extension has been given to the committee.

After receiving public suggestions, the committee has done the work of preparing a draft but the report has not been submitted to the government yet, the statement added.

The UCC was promised to the people of the state in the run-up to the 2022 assembly polls in Uttarakhand.

Article 44 of the Constitution of India says that the State shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) throughout the territory of India. The UCC proposes a common set of laws dealing with marriage, inheritance, adoption, and other matters.

The UCC, which had been a hot topic that had polarised opinions over the last 4 years, hit the forefront in June last year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong case for the implementation of uniform legislation in an address in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal.

PM Modi said the country cannot run on two laws and that the Uniform Civil Code was in keeping with the founding principles and ideals of the Constitution.

“Today people are being instigated in the name of UCC. How can the country run on two (laws)? The Constitution also talks of equal rights…Supreme Court has also asked to implement the UCC. These (Opposition) people are playing vote bank politics,” PM Modi had said in Bhopal.