Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], December 18 : Uttarakhand Governor's Office has returned the anti-conversion legislation and the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill to the Legislative Department over clerical errors in the legislation.
Speaking to ANI, Uttarakhand Home Secretary Shailesh Bagoli on Thursday said that the department has been asked to correct the errors and resubmit them for further processing and passage.
He said, "The information we have received is that two bills have been returned by the Governor's office to the Legislative Department. One of these bills was related to our anti-conversion law, and the other was about the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The anti-conversion law included provisions for stricter penalties in cases of illegal conversions, specifically those involving forced conversions. However, some clerical errors were found in this bill."
"Similarly, the UCC bill, which initially provided for free marriage registration for the first six months, was amended to extend this period to one year. This bill also contained some clerical errors, which is why it was returned. As soon as we receive these bills, both departments will immediately correct the errors and resubmit them for further processing and passage," the Home Secretary said.
Uniform Civil Code Act, 2024 of Uttarakhand, seeks to establish a set of uniform personal laws that apply to all citizens, regardless of religion, gender, or caste. This would cover aspects such as marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance, and succession.
Under this, marriage can be solemnised only between those parties, neither of whom has a living spouse, both of whom are mentally capable of giving legal permission. The man should have completed at least 21 years of age, and the woman 18 years of age, and they should not be in the ambit of prohibited relationships.
The UCC applies to all residents of Uttarakhand, except for the Scheduled Tribes and protected authority-empowered persons and communities. This Act does not apply to the Scheduled Tribes (ST) notified under Article 342 and Article 366 (25) of the Constitution, and protected authority-empowered persons and communities under Part XXI have also been excluded from its purview.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion and Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2018, prohibits the conversion from one religion to another religion by misrepresentation, force, fraud, undue influence, coercion, allurement or marriage.