U'khand sets up panel to draft rules for UCC implementation

The Uttarakhand government on Saturday set up a nine-member committee to prepare the draft rules for implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, 2024, which was passed during a special assembly session earlier this week. The proposed law overrides several national laws on marriage and property inheritance.

The bill, passed by a voice vote on February 7, has made Uttarakhand the first state in India to pass such a law, and has been a long-standing objective of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In an order issued on Saturday, the state home department said that a nine-member committee has been "formed for successful implementation of the provisions of the Uniform Civil Code, 2024 Bill". It added that the panel has been mandated to "prepare a draft of the rules, in which facts related to various procedures, competent level authorities and easy implementation of the provisions of the proposed Act would be included".

The members of the committee comprises of retired chief secretary Shatrughan Singh; the panel comprises additional secretary of justice department Sudhir Singh; deputy inspector general of police (training) Barinderjit Singh; vice-chancellor of Doon University Surekha Dangwal and social worker Manu Gaur, including others.