Pandit Pawan Krishna Shastri is a staunch supporter of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is grateful to the Narendra Modi government for turning the dream of Ram temple into reality. Fr Haridwar also heaped praise on the Pushkar Dhami government’s move on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), but could not understand why provisions on live-in relationships were included in “an otherwise progressive law”.

“This law related to cohabitation is influenced by the West… We should stop it instead of letting couples register themselves,” he told Har ki Paudi’s News18.

Liaqat Ali, a resident of Roorkee, feels the same way on the issue. “The proposal to register live-in relationships is wrong. The government should abolish the system completely. Why should they give it legal support?” Ali asked.

The criticism from various communities was directed at the provisions for live-in couples in Uttarakhand UCC.

Section 378 of the Code requires couples in a common-law relationship to submit a declaration to the registrar in their area. For residents of Uttarakhand residing outside the state, such registration statement must be submitted to the relevant registrar in the jurisdiction in which they reside.

The Code gives the registrar the power to conduct a “summary inquiry” to determine whether:

– The consent of one of the partners was obtained by force, coercion, undue influence, misrepresentation or fraud in the identity of the other partner.

– If any common-law partner is a minor or married.

Article 384 of the Code stipulates that common-law partners are obliged to notify the registrar when the relationship ends.

While the bill stipulates that injunctions for cohabiting couples are for “record keeping” only, it adds that the registrar must forward the details to the local police station.

Soni Ror, a social worker in Roorkee, said registration was needed to protect girls like Shraddha Walkar, who was murdered by her live-in partner in Delhi and dismemberment.

“Raja ki zimmedari hai praja ka dhyaan rakhna… As time changes, laws must change. Nowadays, live-in relationships have been formed, but look what happened in Wokha. If the resident was registered, she might have lived there. People should Respect the law,” he told News18.

However, it is the provision that penalizes cohabiting couples who fail to register that has attracted the most criticism on social media platforms.

“Any person who is in a cohabitation relationship for a period exceeding one month without registration shall be liable to imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or to a fine which may extend to Rs 10,000, or to both,” the bill states.

It added that anyone who provides false information in a declaration of common-law relationship with the registrar can be punished with a higher fine, in addition to a jail term of up to three months.

X User Saurav Das posted: “The state is now in your bedroom, asking you to ‘register’ who you love, where you love, when you start loving and when you end. This is morality under state sanctions Policing.”

He questioned how the law would be enforced and whether it would lead to moral policing. “How on earth does the state/police actually enforce this law? What if you live together but are not in a relationship? Or is there a constant breakup and patching up situation? Or if you are in the middle of a rough patch? What about same sex couples? In a country where there are widespread How on earth is the already overburdened criminal justice system going to seek truth here in a system so badly compromised by perjury?” Das said.

Ayush Tewari called the provision “state interference” and argued that no modern democracy has provisions for registration of cohabiting couples.

Similar posts have been criticized for moral policing, harassing interfaith couples and encouraging vigilantes.

However, BJP MP Trilok Singh Cheema defended the move. Speaking at a rally in support of the bill, Cheema said: “I personally don’t agree with bad marriages, so I think cohabitation and registration is a progressive move.”

The UCC Bill is likely to be passed in the Uttarakhand Assembly on Wednesday. This paragraph may be followed by a gazette notification informing the rules of the law.