⦿ The panel received 2.33 lakh suggestions through various mediums which roughly equals about 10 per cent of the families of the State. ⦿ The committee, headed by retired Justice Desai, also has retired Justice Pramod Kohli, social worker Manu Gaur (heading Taxpayers Association of Bharat), retired IAS officer Shatrughan Singh and Vice Chancellor of Doon University Surekha Dangwal as members. ⦿ Uttarakhand government in June 2022 had formed a committee to examine ways for the implementation of UCC. ⦿ On Friday 2 Feb 2024, five-member committee constituted for drafting the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttarakhand handedthe final report to the State’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. ⦿ The UCC draft, spanning around 750 pages and has four volumes, is written in Hindi. ⦿ The committee has recommended strict punishment for triple talaq and nikahhalala practices, pertaining to Muslim personal laws and also suggested keeping the tribal community out of the UCC ambit. ⦿ Gender equality or elimination of arbitrariness and discrimination, from uniform laws on property rights to adoption rules ⦿ No tampering should be done with the Schedule Tribes (STs), transgender rights, religious matters, and traditions. ⦿ Strict punishment for practices like iddat, halala and triple talaq, that governs marriage and divorce in Muslim personal law. ⦿ Advised ban on polygamy and polyandry ⦿ Committee are to make live-in relationships legal but ensure mandatory registration of such couples ⦿ Minimum age of marriage for women to be 21 years and women will have equal rights in inheritance as men ⦿ Uniform use of the existing laws under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act to ensure same adoption laws for all communities.
