In a significant step toward legal reform, the Uttarakhand Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, has approved the manual for the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The approval came during a Cabinet meeting held at the state secretariat on Monday. The dates for the rollout of the UCC will be announced soon.

This decision follows partial amendments made to the rules previously drafted for the UCC’s implementation. The amendments were thoroughly examined and finalised with input from the Law Department, with the Cabinet’s discussion focusing on the smooth execution of the law.

Post-meeting, Chief Minister Dhami expressed his satisfaction with the progress, underlining the government’s commitment to fulfilling a key electoral promise. “We had assured the people of Uttarakhand during the 2022 elections that the UCC would be implemented promptly once our government came to power. With the draft committee’s work complete, we are now closer to fulfilling that promise,” Dhami stated.

Uttarakhand’s implementation of the UCC will make it the first state in India to adopt a comprehensive civil law framework for all religious communities. The UCC aims to standardize laws in areas such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, and maintenance. While India already has a Uniform Criminal Code, a unified civil law has not existed until now.

The UCC will explicitly exclude tribal communities and prohibit practices such as ‘halala’, ‘iddat’, and ‘talaq’, which are part of Muslim Personal Law. The law itself consists of 392 sections and is divided into seven schedules. The comprehensive 750-page draft, which spans four volumes, was prepared by a five-member expert committee formed in June 2022 to examine the feasibility of introducing the UCC in Uttarakhand.

Led by Retired Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, the committee submitted the final draft to the state government on February 2, 2024. The draft received approval from the state Cabinet on February 4, followed by ratification by the state Assembly during a special session. Governor Lt. Gen Gurmit Singh (Retd) gave the green light on February 28, marking the UCC’s passage into law, a move hailed as a historic milestone in Indian legal history.

While the implementation dates are yet to be finalized, the Cabinet’s approval signals that Uttarakhand is poised to set a significant legal precedent in India.

In a significant legal development, the Supreme Court of India has granted interim relief to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by staying the defamation proceedings against him in a Jharkhand court. The case, which dates back to 2018, revolves around allegedly derogatory remarks made by Gandhi about Union Minister Amit Shah, who was then serving as the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the order while hearing a petition filed by Gandhi seeking to quash the defamation case. The court has issued notices to both the Jharkhand government and Naveen Jha, a BJP worker who had filed the complaint, directing them to submit their responses within four weeks.

In his arguments, Senior Advocate Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Rahul Gandhi, pointed out previous rulings where it was made clear that only the aggrieved party can file a criminal defamation complaint. Singhvi argued that the complaint, in this case, had been filed by a proxy third party and thus should not be entertained.

The defamation case against Gandhi had been under trial in the MP/MLA court in Chaibasa, Jharkhand. In February of the previous year, the lower court had issued a non-bailable warrant for his appearance after he failed to attend hearings. Despite Gandhi’s request for exemption from physical appearance, the court had refused to provide relief, prompting him to approach the Jharkhand High Court. However, the high court had declined to interfere in the matter, leaving Gandhi with no option but to challenge the case in the Supreme Court.

The top court’s intervention has now provided a temporary reprieve to Gandhi, with the matter scheduled to be taken up for further hearing in six weeks. This development marks an important chapter in the ongoing legal battle involving the Congress leader and the BJP.

As the case progresses, the outcome could have significant implications not only for Rahul Gandhi but also for the broader political landscape in the country, as defamation lawsuits continue to be a contentious issue in Indian politics.

Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, on Saturday, accused the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar of conducting a caste survey that he described as an attempt to deceive the public.

Speaking at a ‘Samvidhan Suraksha Sammelan’ in Patna, he emphasized the necessity of a nationwide caste census to ascertain the level of representation and participation of OBCs, Dalits, and workers in bureaucratic and other sectors.

“The objective of the caste census should not only be to count various castes but also to understand their contributions to the nation’s wealth. We do not want a caste survey like the one carried out by the Bihar government, which merely aimed to mislead the people,” said Gandhi.

He also criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), stating that its MPs from backward communities feel restricted and confined. “Where is it stated in the Constitution of India that the wealth of India should belong solely to a select few? Today’s MLAs and MPs lack real power,” Gandhi remarked. He recounted his conversations with BJP MPs from backward communities and said they express a sense of being “put in a cage.”

Gandhi pointed out that while Dalits and individuals from backward communities have been granted representation, their power has been diminished. “Once it became evident that people from the backward communities and Dalits were gaining representation, the government conferred it but stripped away their power. The real power now lies with Ambani, Adani, and the RSS, who place their affiliates in every organization,” he asserted.

Additionally, the Leader of the Opposition took aim at RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, who suggested that the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya represented India’s “true independence.” Gandhi criticized Bhagwat’s statement, saying, “Recently, Mohan Bhagwat claimed that India did not achieve independence on August 15, 1947. If he is suggesting this, then he is rejecting the Constitution of India.”

He further stated, “Bhagwat is actively erasing the ideologies of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Lord Buddha, and Mahatma Gandhi from various institutions across India.”