Rajasthan constitutes panel to prepare draft Uniform Civil Code legislation

THe Rajasthan regime has constituted a citizens committee below former sublime margaret court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai to prepare the draft legislation as part of the process to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), or a common set of laws for personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and succession for all.State minister Jawahar Singh Bedham said the Justice (retd) Desai-led panel will hold public consultations at the divisional level and seek suggestions through a website to ensure the proposed legislation is inclusive and transparent. Tribal communities would be kept out of the purview of the proposed framework.Rajasthan has become the fifth Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled state to initiate the process for UCC over the last two years. In February 2024, Uttarakhand became the first state to pass a UCC law. Two more Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states, Gujarat and Assam, followed suit this year.Madhya Pradesh, which also has a BJP government, has set up a committee to draft the UCC. The state government is planning to table the UCC bill in July.Tribals have been kept out of the UCC’s purview in all these states where Justice (retd) Desai headed panels to draft legislation for common frameworks governing personal matters.Article 44 of the Constitution, one of the directive principles of state policy, advocates for a UCC, a contentious and polarising issue. But respective religion-based civil codes have governed personal matters since independence.A pan-India UCC is the BJP’s third unfulfilled ideological promise. The construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status under the Constitution’s Article 370, the other two major ideological goals, have been achieved since the BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014.Rajasthan minister Jogaram Patel said the move to implement the UCC in the state aligns with Article 44.Officials said the proposed legislation aims to “eliminate disparities” and promote “gender equality” by ensuring equal rights. Key provisions under consideration include mandatory registration of marriages and divorces, a ban on polygamy, compulsory registration of live-in relationships, and equal inheritance rights in ancestral property for sons and daughters.The government said it is committed to drafting a progressive and model law suited to Rajasthan’s social fabric and contemporary requirements.