Gujarat Becomes Second State To Passing The UCC Bill After Uttarakhand

The Gujarat state government has created history after passing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill 2026 in the State Assembly on March 24 2026. It was tabled by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and the Bill proposes the common legal framework for marriage, divorce, succession and live-in relationships across all religions. The state has become the second state to implement a UCC law after Uttarakhand.

What is the Gujarat UCC Bill 2026?

The Gujarat Uniform Civil Code Bill, 2026 aims to create the single legal framework to governing personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and live-in relationships regardless of religion.

Currently India follows the different personal laws for different religious communities. The UCC tends to replace these with a common set of rules which will ensuring equality before law.

The Bill was introduced after the state-appointed committee submitted its report and recommends to the implementation of a uniform system.

Key Provisions of the UCC Bill

The proposed law includes various important provisions which aimed at standardizing personal laws.

One of the main features is the prohibition of bigamy. With this it ensuring that a person cannot marry if they already have a living spouse.

Another key provision is the mandatory registration of live-in relationships along with a formal declaration process for their termination.

This is a new legal step is aimed at regulating such relationships.

The Bill also seeks to establish the uniform rules for inheritance and succession and also reducing the legal complexities across communities.

Who is Exempted from the Law?

As per the bill details, its provisions will not apply to Scheduled Tribes (STs) and certain groups. This group customary rights are protected under the Constitution.

The exemption is significant because the tribal communities enjoy special protections under Fifth and Sixth schedules of the Constitution of India.

It  also ensures that the UCC does not override the traditional custom practices that are constitutionally safeguarded.

Legal and Constitutional Context of UCC

The idea of Uniform Civil Code is mentioned in Article 44 of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) in the Constitution of Indian. It encourages the State to implement the uniform set of civil laws for all citizens.

However since DPSPs are non-justiciable and its implementation depends on political will and legislative action of the state.

The introduction of UCC at the state level reflects the gradual approach towards the achieving legal uniformity and equality in personal laws.

Significance of the Gujarat UCC Bill

The Bill is so important as it represents the major step for the legal reform and social equality. By standardizing personal laws goal is to ensure equal rights for all citizens irrespective of religion.

It also reduces the legal ambiguities and simplifies judicial processes related to family laws.

Also the Bill has sparked debates around religious freedom and cultural diversity and making it a sensitive and important issue in Indian polity.

Comparison with Uttarakhand UCC

Gujarat  become the second state after Uttarakhand (2024) to passing the UCC law. Both states main aims to create uniformity in personal laws while respecting certain exemptions.

This progress is a getting  movement towards the state-level implementation of UCC which could influence the national-level discussions in the future.

Question

Q. The Uniform Civil Code is mentioned in which Article of the Indian Constitution?

A. Article 21
B. Article 32
C. Article 44
D. Article 370