The Uttarakhand government on Friday constituted a five-member panel to implement a Uniform Civil Code in the state, PTI reported.
A Uniform Civil Code involves having a common set of laws governing marriage, divorce, succession and adoption for all Indians, instead of allowing different personal laws for people of different faiths.
The panel will be headed by retired Supreme Court justice Ranjana Desai, who is also the chairperson of the Delimitation Commission of India, according to The Indian Express.
Other members of panel are retired Delhi High Court judge Pramod Kohli, social activist Manu Gaur, retired Indian Administrative Service officer Shatrughan Singh and Doon University Vice Chancellor Surekha Dangwal.
“The governor has given his permission to establish an expert committee to check all the relevant laws which control personal matters for people living in Uttarakhand, and to prepare a report on amendments in the present laws,” an order issued by the state home department said, according to The Indian Express.
Implementing a Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand had been a part of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s agenda even in the lead up to the recent state elections, which the Bharatiya Janata Party won.
On Friday, Dhami said that the step was taken to impart uniformity amongst all religious communities and to conserve the culture of Uttarakhand.
On March 25, the chief minister had said that Uttarakhand would be the first state in the country to implement the Uniform Civil Code. On the same day, he had announced that the state Cabinet had approved the proposal to form a panel to implement the Uniform Civil Code.
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