The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill was introduced in the Uttarakhand Assembly by chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday, February 6.
The bill proposes a uniform civil code governing marriage, divorce, land, property, and inheritance for all citizens of Uttarakhand, regardless of their religion, with the exception of the Scheduled Tribes.
Voicing their opposition against the move, members of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board opposed the bill said uniformity in every law was not possible.
Citing the ‘right to religious freedom’, an executive member of AIMPLB, Maulana Khalid Rasheed, said, “As far as the Uniform Civil Code is concerned, we are of the opinion that uniformity cannot be brought into every law.”
He further questioned the exemption of tribals living in Uttarakhand from the ambit of the UCC. “If you exempt a particular community or any community from the Uniform Civil Code, how can it be a uniform code,” he asked.
He added that as the draft had been presented in the Assembly, and once access is gained, the legal team will study the law and a further course of action will be decided.
