The panel appointed by the state government to prepare the draft Uniform Civil Code (UCC) submitted the document to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday.

The draft was handed over to the chief minister by a five-member committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai.

A national cabinet meeting was held on Saturday to discuss the draft, days after the government convened a special session of parliament. The Uttarakhand Assembly has convened a four-day special session from February 5 to 8 to pass a legislation on UCC.

If implemented, Uttarakhand will become the first state in the country to adopt UCC after independence. It has been functioning in Goa since the days of Portuguese rule.

Following are some features of the proposed Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand:

1. The Uniform Civil Code will provide a unified legal framework for marriage, divorce, land, property and inheritance laws for all citizens, regardless of their religious beliefs. The UCC will cover areas such as marriage, divorce, support, inheritance, adoption and inheritance.
2. The 300-page draft UCC will have about 400 sections and will not tamper with scheduled tribes, transgender rights, religious issues and traditions.
3. According to reports, a key part of the draft is to make halala, iddat and triple talaq – the practices in Muslim personal law governing marriage and divorce – subject to punishment for crime. The UCC draft also recommends banning polygamy.
4. It is also understood that the commission is seeking to legalize live-in relationships and make registration compulsory. People in cohabiting relationships must disclose their identities and register on a government portal. While registering, some important identity documents including Aadhar card will have to be provided, while couples between 18 and 21 years of age will have to provide parental consent.
5. Although marriage traditions vary between religions, there are common laws regarding divorce and alimony. Likewise, there will be common law for adoption and determination of heirs.
6. Women of all religions, including Muslims, will have equal rights to their father’s property.
7. The draft does not provide for determining the number of children and raises the age of marriage.
8. There are no laws regarding adoption in Muslim, Christian and Zoroastrian communities. Under the proposed law, people of all religious beliefs would be allowed to adopt, but they would have to choose a child of their own religion for adoption.
9. The draft also includes provisions related to the minimum legal age of marriage for women, as well as recommendations to retain the legal age of 18 and raise it to 21, The Indian Express reported.