Will Uttarakhand become the second state with a uniform civil code (UCC) as a result of the declaration made by the newly elected chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami regarding its implementation? The Uttarakhand government formed a committee consisting of five members, led by a retired Justice Ranjana Desai that will prepare a report on all relevant laws governing personal matters for Uttarakhand residents.

This committee has launched a web portal to solicit public suggestions, and it has recently begun a tour of Uttarakhand to meet with locals to discuss issues such as marriage, divorce, adoption, and property rights, among others, and prepare a report.

What is the UCC?

UCC would provide a single law for the entire nation. To put it more succinctly, we can say that the UCC applies the same law to the entire community regarding property rights and marriage, divorce, and adoption. It is mentioned in article 44 of the Indian constitution which reads as:
"The state shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India."

This article finds its mention in Part IV of the constitution which talks about Directive Principles of State Policies (DPSP), which are unenforceable in any court under Article 37. This is the reason why the UCC is not implemented in India, despite the fact that it is mentioned in the Constitution. Goa is the only state that has implemented UCC at this time.

Origin
In 1835, a report from British India emphasized the need for uniform codification of Indian criminal, evidence, and contract law, specifically recommending that Hindu and Muslim personal laws not be codified. As a result, in 1941, the BN Rao committee was established to codify Hindu law.

The Hindu succession act of 1956, which codified and amended the law governing intestate or unwilled succession among Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs, was enacted in response to the recommendations of this committee. However, Muslims, Christians, and Parsis each had their own personal laws.

Numerous SC decisions regarding UCC

1. In the Shah Bano case, a woman's husband divorced her and denied her maintenance. The Supreme Court ruled in her favor in 1985 under the 'All India Criminal Code's maintenance of wives, children, and parents' provision, which applied to all citizens regardless of their religion and recommended implementing UCC.
    
2. In the Sarla Mudgal case, a husband had married twice after changing his religion from Hinduism to Islam. So his first wife went to the court. The Supreme Court ruled in her favor and urged the government to create a uniform civil code.
    
3. In the case of Shayara Bano, a Muslim man divorced his wife by saying the word "Talaq" three times. Through this case, 'talaq-e-biddat' was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. This is without a doubt a step toward equality and laid the groundwork for future personal law modifications.

Conclusion
At the end we can conclude that evolution is needed to emerge a UCC while preserving India's legal heritage, which include all personal laws equally. It is also possible that expected equality between religion and genders won't be realized as a result of the UCC's implementation because of the conflicting opinions of the people.

Communities have to take initiative for the reforms in current personal laws. For this change, existing institutions must be modernized, strengthened and democratized. Genuine efforts must be made toward women empowerment for all women regardless of religion.

However there are many conflicting views on implementation of UCC. So here's an open question for you all Do you think that implementation of UCC in Uttarakhand is a step towards equality?