Gujarat UCC panel to seek suggestions from public, focus on equal rights for women, children

Gandhinagar: The high-level committee constituted by the Gujarat government to draft the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will hold public consultations and focus on equal rights for women and care for children, its chairperson Justice (retired) Ranjana Desai said on Tuesday.

The five-member UCC committee convened its first meeting in Gujarat at the state capital, where Justice Desai launched a web portal, www.uccgujarat.in, to take suggestions regarding the UCC from the public, government agencies, NGOs, social groups, communities, religious organisations and political parties.

"Our work starts today. The committee has been tasked with assessing the need for the UCC in Gujarat. We will come up with a draft after the exercise, and for that, we will hold public consultation," the former Supreme Court Justice told reporters.

She said public consultation is a vital part of the exercise, and two sub-committees have been formed — one for public consultation and another to prepare the draft.

The committee met at the Gujarat Bhavan in Delhi last month.

Justice Desai said, "We will focus more on equal rights to women and care for children. There should be equal rights for marriage and divorce. Marriages and divorces will have to be registered, but rituals of marriage are not to be disturbed." The registration of all marriages and divorces is the only requirement, and divorces will have to be carried out as per the law, she said, adding that a draft for the law of inheritance and live-in relationships will be prepared soon.

Justice Desai said, "We will soon start preparing a draft for the UCC and hope to complete it at the earliest. But before that, we will hold public consultation with common people, religious leaders and the press. We will then go through suggestions submitted on the portal. We will study them for new ideas and objections. We will begin preparing a draft after that and try to complete it at the earliest."

Citing that the UCC has been implemented in Uttarakhand, she said the code is in the directive principles of the Constitution, and even the Supreme Court has passed several judgments regarding this.

She said the committee will meet and listen to people, but the exercise may not be completed within the prescribed time as public consultation will take time for a big state like Gujarat.

As per an official release, stakeholders can submit their suggestions and opinions regarding the UCC online or through post by March 24.

"This committee today held discussions with various commissions of the state government, representatives of religious organisations and political parties and obtained their suggestions and opinions," it said.

The committee, headed by Justice Desai, is required to submit its report within 45 days, after which a decision about the implementation of the UCC will be made, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has said.

Other members of the committee include retired IAS officer CL Meena, advocate RC Kodekar, educationist Daxesh Thakar and social worker Gita Shroff.