Vinayak Sharma|Bhopal26 minutes ago
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Friday said in Katni, ‘If Ram marries once, why should Rahim marry two or four times? Only those who marry once will be able to live in Madhya Pradesh.’
On Sunday, the Madhya Pradesh Cabinet is set to approve the draft Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill at its meeting in Jagdishpur, Bhopal. The Bill will then be tabled during the Assembly’s Monsoon Session, beginning on 20 July.
Ahead of the Cabinet meeting, here is an explainer on whether the UCC targets any religion, what it means for live-in relationships and how it will change existing laws.
Q1: Is MP’s UCC model stricter than Uttarakhand’s?
Answer: Madhya Pradesh’s draft is largely based on Uttarakhand’s UCC model. Former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, who chaired Uttarakhand’s drafting committee, also heads Madhya Pradesh’s committee.
However, MP’s draft simplifies several provisions. Compared with Uttarakhand and Gujarat, where drafting is still underway, the MP draft is designed to be easier for the public to understand.
The committee has reduced complex succession-related legal provisions from around 100 to 30. Like Uttarakhand, registration of live-in relationships will be mandatory, while Scheduled Tribes (STs) remain completely exempt from the law.
Q2: What did the CM mean by saying, ‘If Ram marries once, why should Rahim marry four times?’
Answer: The Chief Minister was referring to the abolition of polygamy. Under the Hindu Marriage Act, polygamy is already illegal for Hindus, while Muslim Personal Law permits Muslim men to marry up to four women under certain conditions. Under the proposed UCC, no person, irrespective of religion, will be allowed to marry again while their spouse is alive unless legally divorced.
The Centre had already criminalised instant triple talaq in 2019. The UCC is seen as the next major reform.
The issue gained prominence in the 1995 Sarla Mudgal case, where a Hindu man converted to Islam to marry again without divorcing his first wife. The Supreme Court declared the second marriage invalid and observed that a Uniform Civil Code would help prevent such practices.
Q3: Will police arrest couples living in a live-in relationship?
Answer: No. Police will not arrest anyone without reason. However, every live-in couple will be required to register with the District Registrar.
The proposal includes four key provisions:
- Registration details will be shared with the local police station and both partners’ parents.
- Neighbours, landlords, or local residents may report an unregistered live-in relationship.
- Media reports suggest that failing to register or providing false information could attract up to three months’ imprisonment, similar to Uttarakhand. Registration must also be cancelled if the couple separates.
- If a man abandons his live-in partner, he may be required to pay maintenance.
Q4: What happens to children born from live-in relationships?
Answer: At present, such children often face lengthy legal battles to establish inheritance rights. The proposed UCC aims to provide them with full legal recognition.
The proposal includes three key provisions:
- Children born to registered live-in couples will be legally recognised as legitimate and entitled to both parents’ identity.
- They will have equal rights by birth in both their mother’s and father’s ancestral and self-acquired property without requiring court proceedings.
- If the couple separates, maintenance for the woman has been proposed. Custody, education and maintenance rules for children are also expected to be similar to those applicable to children born within marriage, although the final provisions will become clear after the Bill is introduced.
Q5: Will religious marriage ceremonies such as Saptapadi or Nikah end under the UCC?
Answer: No, the UCC does not interfere with religious customs or ceremonies. Hindu Saptapadi, Muslim Nikah and Sikh Anand Karaj will continue unchanged. The law will only standardise civil matters such as marriage registration, legal marriage age, divorce procedures, maintenance and inheritance across all religions.
Q6: Will property rights change?
Answer: The committee has proposed two major changes.
- The draft recommends replacing the word ‘mother’ with ‘parents’ in inheritance provisions to ensure fathers also retain equal inheritance rights where applicable.
- Equal inheritance rights already available to Hindu daughters since 2005 will be extended to daughters of all communities, ensuring uniform property rights regardless of religion.
Q7: Which communities are exempt from the UCC and why?
Answer: The committee has recommended excluding Scheduled Tribes (STs), along with nomadic and semi-nomadic communities. Madhya Pradesh has the country’s largest tribal population, with around 21% of residents belonging to Scheduled Tribes.
The committee says the exemption is intended to preserve their traditional customs and cultural identity. The Constitution also provides special protection for Scheduled Tribes to follow their customary laws.
Q8: Is the UCC against any religion?
Answer: No, before preparing the draft, the committee sought public feedback and says it received around 9.5 lakh suggestions. According to the report, 38% of Muslim men supported the UCC, while around 10,500 of 15,000 Muslim women, about 71%, submitted suggestions in its favour.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Suryakant has said that the Uniform Civil Code is a constitutional reality and does not conflict with religion. Former Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud has also described the UCC as an important constitutional objective, while emphasising that all communities should be taken along during its implementation.
