Nothing uniform about UCC: How Gujarat, Assam and Uttarakhand rules differ

A Uniform Civil Code (UCC) sets one statutory framework, across religious communities, for family matters such as marriage, divorce, succession and live-in relationships. Gujarat and Assam have now enacted their own UCC laws, joining Uttarakhand, whose UCC has been in operation since January 27, 2025.

President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to Gujarat’s UCC on September 17 and Assam’s on September 29. Assent is the President’s approval of a state law reserved for her consideration. Both laws will come into force only from a date separately notified by the state government, so their substantive provisions await commencement.

Among the other BJP-ruled states, the Madhya Pradesh assembly passed its Bill on July 21. Rajasthan introduced its Bill on August 21. Maharashtra’s code is being prepared by a drafting committee.

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Retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai has headed UCC committees in several states. She chaired the drafting committees in Uttarakhand and Gujarat and was appointed to lead Maharashtra’s panel. West Bengal government also appointed her to chair a nine-member panel examining its proposed UCC Bill, which it had already drafted. The texts of the Bills—in various stages—follow a similar structure but differ on particulars.

Who comes under the Code?

A state UCC can apply to some residents even when they are living outside the state, so the definition of “resident” determines the law’s reach. Uttarakhand and Assam include, among other categories, an Indian citizen who has lived in the state for at least one year. Gujarat makes the comparable residence requirement much longer, at ten continuous years.

Those periods are only one way of qualifying as a resident. The codes also cover certain state or Central government employees and beneficiaries of government schemes. Gujarat recognises additional grounds based on birth and property ownership. A person born in Gujarat to resident parents, or one who owns immovable property there, can qualify if that person has no permanent legal home, or domicile, in another state. The code also applies to Gujarat residents living elsewhere.

Marriage, custom and registration

For people covered by the codes, the basic marriage conditions are largely alike. A man must be at least 21 and a woman 18. Neither person can already be married to someone else. Marriages between close relatives are generally barred, subject to recognised customary exceptions. Divorce takes place through a court on grounds laid down in the code, including mutual consent.

The treatment of custom requires a further distinction. Uttarakhand and Gujarat keep Scheduled Tribes, and groups whose customary rights are protected under Part XXI of the Constitution, outside the code. Assam exempts Scheduled Tribes. Among people who remain covered, a recognised custom can still permit a marriage between relatives who would otherwise be barred from marrying.

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The laws also allow different wedding ceremonies. Gujarat expressly recognises forms including Mangal Fera, in which the couple circles the sacred fire. Assam lists Ahom Chaklong Bibah along with Nikah, Anand Karaj and other ceremonies. Ahom Chaklong Bibah is the traditional wedding ceremony of Assam’s Tai-Ahom community. Nikah is the Muslim marriage ceremony, centred on a marriage agreement accepted by the bride and groom. Anand Karaj is the Sikh wedding ceremony, in which the couple walks four times around the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh scripture, as marriage hymns are sung.

Marriage registration reveals another difference. The couple’s filing deadline is separate from the registrar’s deadline for deciding the application. Gujarat requires details within 60 days, including for a covered marriage solemnised outside the state. Assam gives 60 days for marriages within Assam and 90 days for those outside it.

After an application reaches the registration office, the registrar generally has 15 days to act. Assam treats the marriage as registered if no decision is made within that period. Gujarat instead allows the applicant to complain to the Registrar General, the senior registration authority. Uttarakhand changed its procedure in 2026 so an undecided application automatically moves first to the Registrar and, if the delay continues, to the Registrar General. Failure to register does not invalidate an otherwise valid marriage.

Live-in relationships and territorial reach

The live-in provisions use a wider territorial rule than the general residence definition. In Uttarakhand and Gujarat, a couple living together within the state must file a statement of their relationship even if neither partner qualifies as a resident. A qualifying resident living with a partner outside the state may also file one.

The registrar can examine whether the relationship meets the code’s conditions. Gujarat permits a limited inquiry and allows the registrar to call the partners or others for information. Either partner can report that the relationship has ended, after which the registrar issues a termination certificate.

The process also involves the police and, in some cases, the family. Gujarat and Uttarakhand require the registrar to forward live-in statements to the local police station for its record. If either partner is below 21, the registrar must inform that partner’s parents or guardian, so the rule includes adults aged 18, 19 and 20.

Gujarat additionally requires a police referral if the registrar finds that the relationship falls within a prohibited category or considers the information incorrect or suspicious. Uttarakhand removed the corresponding clause in 2026, while retaining routine police forwarding and intimation to parents or guardians where a partner is below 21.

Punishment, maintenance and children

The codes treat coercion or deception in a live-in relationship more seriously than registration failures. Uttarakhand’s 2026 amendment provides up to seven years’ imprisonment, along with a fine, for obtaining consent through force, coercion or fraud and for certain relationships involving a person already married or in another live-in relationship. Gujarat sets a five-year imprisonment as maximum, following conviction by a court.

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Failure to register a live-in relationship attracts lower penalties. In Gujarat and Uttarakhand, remaining in an unregistered live-in relationship for more than a month can lead, on conviction, to imprisonment of up to three months, a fine of up to Rs 10,000, or both. The laws separately deal with false statements and continued non-compliance after an official notice.

The codes also give financial and family rights to partners and children. A woman deserted by her live-in partner can seek maintenance, meaning financial support for necessities such as food, housing and medical care. Children born from live-in relationships receive legal family status and inheritance rights. Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Assam also recognise adopted children and children born through surrogacy or assisted reproduction for succession.

How property passes without a will

The succession provisions determine who inherits when a person dies without a valid will. Gujarat and Assam place the surviving spouse, children, the families of children who died earlier, and parents in the first group of heirs. Each surviving spouse and child receives one share, while the surviving parents together receive one share.

Consider an estate in which the only first-ranking heirs are a surviving spouse, one son, one daughter and both parents. The estate is divided into four equal shares. The spouse receives one-quarter, the son one-quarter and the daughter one-quarter. The parents share the remaining quarter equally, so each receives one-eighth.

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The codes also explain what happens to rights and proceedings that existed before the new law begins. Uttarakhand and Gujarat preserve rights and obligations created under earlier laws and allow pending proceedings to continue. Gujarat recognises marriages registered under its 2006 law. Assam addresses registrations under its 2024 Muslim marriage-registration law and allows registration of polygamous marriages entered into before the UCC begins to operate.

Maharashtra’s consultation dispute

Maharashtra’s drafting process has produced a dispute over the committee’s consultation. Justice RC Chavan, a retired Bombay High Court judge, resigned from the Desai-headed committee on September 19 after its second meeting. He questioned the handling of a public questionnaire and the participation of retired civil servant Shatrughna Singh, who was not then a member of the panel.

In his resignation email, reported by The Indian Express, Chavan said a questionnaire due for committee discussion had already been circulated as finalised. He also wanted greater scope for detailed answers. Committee sources told the newspaper that Singh had attended as an adviser and that the questionnaire included space for subjective responses. The Maharashtra government appointed Singh member-cum-senior adviser on September 21.

The consultation process will ultimately be judged by whether it changes the law in response to substantive public concerns. Uttarakhand’s later amendments show that UCC provisions can be reconsidered after implementation, including the removal of an additional police-referral requirement for live-in relationships. Maharashtra’s committee has therefore an opportunity to show how consultation can work before enactment by publishing the main concerns it receives, explaining which suggestions it accepts or rejects, and giving reasons for those choices. That would make it possible to assess whether public participation shaped the code rather than merely accompanied its drafting.