The 201-page invoice, tabled by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, will apply to all residents besides Scheduled Tribes and teams with protected customary rights.
Gujarat on Tuesday grew to become the second state after Uttarakhand to enact a Uniform Civil Code, passing the Gujarat Uniform Civil Code Invoice, 2026, which seeks to control private civil issues reminiscent of marriage, divorce, succession and live-in relationships throughout religions. The legislation will apply to all residents of the state—together with these residing outdoors Gujarat—whereas excluding Scheduled Tribes and teams whose customary rights are constitutionally protected.
Laws strikes shortly after panel report
The 201-page Invoice was tabled within the state legislative meeting by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, only a week after a state-appointed panel submitted its last report on the necessity for and contours of implementing a Uniform Civil Code within the state. The transfer has triggered sharp debate over problems with equality and timing, notably with native physique polls due later this 12 months and Meeting elections scheduled for 2027.
“As we speak’s improvement might be etched in golden letters in Gujarat’s historical past,” Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghvi stated, including that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is geared toward making certain a typical set of legal guidelines for “all sisters, daughters and moms” within the state. “The UCC will guarantee related legal guidelines for everybody. It’s not meant for anyone faith, however will present equal footing for all Indians,” he instructed mediapersons.
Opposition protests and issues
Nevertheless, the passage of the Invoice was not clean after debates prolonged past seven hours. Congress MLA Imran Khedawala instructed mediapersons that he would lead protests towards the Invoice within the coming days. On Tuesday, earlier than the UCC Invoice was taken up for debate within the Gujarat Meeting, protests erupted within the walled-city space of Ahmedabad, the place police shortly detained about 25 individuals protesting beneath the banner of SDPI, who claimed that the Invoice was towards non secular minorities residing within the state and violated their respective freedoms. Municipal corporators and members of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) additionally staged a protest in Ahmedabad metropolis.
Key provisions of the UCC
The Invoice seeks to supply a uniform authorized framework for civil issues irrespective of faith, caste, creed or gender, according to the directive beneath Article 44 of the Structure of India, which requires a Uniform Civil Code. Amongst key provisions, the Code standardises guidelines on marriage and divorce by prescribing uniform grounds for dissolution, together with in instances of a partner’s sexual offences, and enforces monogamy by making remarriage in the course of the subsistence of a wedding punishable beneath the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023. It additionally introduces a typical framework for succession and associated civil issues, changing differing private legislation practices with a single authorized construction.
Regulation of live-in relationships
The UCC Invoice additionally introduces a regulatory framework for live-in relationships, requiring companions to submit a declaration to a registrar. Residents of Gujarat in such relationships outdoors the state can also register them, and youngsters born out of those relationships might be recognised as legit. The federal government stated the laws goals to uphold ideas of secularism, gender justice and inclusivity, whereas advancing social reform and strengthening societal unity.
Skilled Panel recommends UCC
The state authorities had constituted a committee chaired by former Supreme Courtroom decide Ranjana Prakash Desai to look at the necessity for such a legislation. The panel reviewed present private legal guidelines, judicial precedents and practices earlier than recommending adoption of the Code.
Revealed on March 24, 2026
