The Gujarat government has introduced the Gujarat Uniform Civil Code (UCC), 2026 Bill in the state Legislative Assembly, positioning the state to become the second in India—after Uttarakhand—to enact such a framework. Tabled on March 19, 2026, by Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, the bill proposes a common legal structure governing marriage, divorce, succession, inheritance, adoption, and live-in relationships, applicable to all residents irrespective of religion (with exemptions for Scheduled Tribes).
The bill draws heavily from Uttarakhand's UCC Act, implemented in January 2025. Multiple reports describe it as "modelled on" or "drawn largely from" the Uttarakhand legislation, with key provisions including mandatory registration of marriages and divorces, a ban on polygamy (with penalties up to seven years' imprisonment for bigamy), outlawing practices like halala, and requirements for live-in relationships to be registered (with women in such arrangements eligible for maintenance). The Gujarat cabinet ratified the draft shortly after a committee, chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai (who also headed Uttarakhand's drafting effort), submitted its final report to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on March 17, 2026. The report, prepared after public consultations, emphasizes gender equality and women's protection.
However, critics argue that the bill represents a **missed opportunity** for genuine reform, labeling it a "cut-copy-paste" exercise that largely replicates Uttarakhand's model without addressing deeper shortcomings or tailoring it meaningfully to Gujarat's diverse socio-cultural context. Legal experts and commentators have pointed out that Uttarakhand's UCC has been critiqued as intrusive—particularly in regulating consensual adult relationships like live-ins through mandatory registration and potential penalties—while failing to incorporate progressive elements such as irretrievable breakdown of marriage as a divorce ground or broader inclusivity for non-heterosexual relationships. Some analyses describe Uttarakhand's code as borrowing extensively from the Special Marriage Act, 1954, and the Indian Succession Act, 1956, without innovative changes, resulting in a "uniform cut and paste" approach rather than bold, context-specific modernization.
In Gujarat's case, opponents contend the bill squanders the chance to craft a more nuanced law that could have incorporated lessons from Uttarakhand's implementation challenges, including legal petitions questioning its constitutionality, privacy intrusions, and perceived bias against certain communities. By opting for a near-identical template, the legislation is seen as prioritizing uniformity and political messaging over substantive legal innovation, potentially repeating flaws like inadequate safeguards for vulnerable groups or insufficient public consensus-building. Opposition voices, including from minority communities, have raised concerns about religious freedom under Article 25 of the Constitution, while some activists argue it imposes a majoritarian framework disguised as equality.
The bill is slated for discussion in the Assembly on March 24, 2026, with Speaker Shankar Chaudhary assuring sufficient time for debate before the budget session concludes. If passed, it would mark a significant step in the BJP-led push for state-level UCCs, following Uttarakhand's precedent and amid similar explorations in states like Assam. Yet, the reliance on a borrowed model has fueled debate over whether this advances true social reform or merely extends an existing, contested template.
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