NEW DELHI: After the high-level meeting at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official residence earlier this week, speculation is rife that the Uttarakhand government will likely call a special Assembly session in the second week of July to push through the contentious Uniform Civil Code in the state. The draft proposal of the Uttarakhand UCC is complete and will now be submitted to the state government, Justice (Retd) Ranjana Prakash Desai, who heads the UCC panel for the state, said on Friday.
Soon after the committee of experts set up by the state government announced that the draft was ready, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the UCC will soon be implemented.
In a tweet, he said, "As per the promise made to the people of the state, today on June 30, the committee formed to prepare the draft of the Uniform Civil Code has completed its work."
"Soon #UniformCivilCode will be implemented in Devbhoomi Uttarakhand," Mr Dhami said in the tweet in Hindi.
Meanwhile, a parliamentary standing committee has called the representatives of the Law Commission and the law ministry on July 3 on a recent notice issued by the law panel seeking the views of stakeholders on the issue of UCC.
The standing committee on law and personnel will hear the views of representatives of the law panel and legal affairs and legislative departments of the law ministry "on public notice issued by the Law Commission on June 14, inviting views from the various stakeholders on the Uniform Civil Code, under the subject 'Review of Personal Laws'".
Briefing the media about the consultations on the Uttarakhand UCC with stakeholders, Justice Desai said the panel has drafted the code taking into account all shades of opinion and looking into various statutes and uncodified laws, including the statutory framework in select countries.
Besides, the committee tried to understand the "finer nuances" of the various customary practices that prevail in different parts of Uttarakhand.
"It gives me immense pleasure to inform you that the drafting of the proposed UCC for Uttarakhand is now complete... The report of the committee, along with the draft code, will soon be printed and submitted to the state government," Justice Desai told the media.
The Uttarakhand government had constituted a committee of experts under retired Supreme Court judge Justice Desai in May last year to examine the various existing laws regulating personal civil matters of the residents of Uttarakhand and to prepare draft law or laws or suggest changes in existing laws on such subjects as marriage, divorce, property rights, succession, inheritance, adoption, maintenance, custody and guardianship.
Last year, a notification in this regard was issued on May 27, and the terms of reference were notified on June 10.
Justice Desai refused to share the details of the draft UCC or the committee's report, saying it has to be first submitted to the state government.
"Our emphasis is to ensure gender equality, keeping women, children and disabled persons in focus. We have tried to bring everyone on an equal footing with the elimination of arbitrariness and discrimination," she, however, said.
Justice Desai said that the committee has studied the existing laws in various countries, including Muslim countries, but refused to share their names.
"We have seen everything and studied personal laws. We have also studied the Law Commission's report. If you read our draft, you will feel that the committee has considered everything," she said, adding that the draft, if implemented, "will strengthen the secular fabric of our country."
Justice Desai said the committee held its first meeting on July 4 last year in Delhi and since then, it has met 63 times.
A sub-committee was constituted last year to elicit public opinion through written submissions as well as through public dialogue programmes, she said.
Justice Desai said the sub-committee began its public outreach programme from the border tribal village Mana and visited 40 different places in Uttarakhand, covering all the districts, which culminated in a public discussion in Delhi on June 14 with participation from the residents of Uttarakhand staying in the Delhi and national capital region.
The sub-committee met 143 times in Dehradun and other places. Justice Desai said the committee also interacted with the representatives of political parties, state statutory commissions and leaders of various religious denominations.
While the sub-committee interacted with about 20,000 people during the public consultation exercise, the committee received altogether 2.31 lakh written submissions from people.
Justice Desai said the Uttarakhand UCC committee also held an interaction with the chairperson of the Law Commission and its members on June 2 in Delhi.
"The chairperson of the Law Commission had requested for an interaction with the members of the expert committee. This interaction was held on June 2, wherein members as well as chairpersons of both the Law Commission and the expert committee were present," she told reporters.
