Chhattisgarh Moves to Table Uniform Civil Code Bill in Winter Session: CM Sai

The Chhattisgarh government will introduce a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill during the upcoming Winter Session of the State Assembly, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced on Friday. Speaking at the Raipur airport, Sai reaffirmed the government's commitment to implementing the UCC.

This announcement comes nearly a month after the state government formally began the implementation process by appointing a five-member committee headed by former Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. The committee is tasked with examining the existing legal framework related to marriage, divorce, maintenance, inheritance, adoption, and other matters, and making recommendations for a UCC in Chhattisgarh.

The committee includes retired IAS officers Shatrughan Singh and MK Raut, senior advocate Mohan Pawar, and former principal Jyoti Rani Singh, in addition to Justice Desai. They will seek suggestions from citizens, social organisations, legal experts, and other stakeholders, while also studying UCC-related legal frameworks adopted by other states.

Since 2024, states such as Uttarakhand, Gujarat, and Assam have implemented UCCs that largely regulate personal laws, including marriage, divorce, succession, inheritance, and live-in relationships. Earlier this week, the Madhya Pradesh legislative assembly passed a UCC Bill with provisions to ban polygamy and mandate registration of live-in relationships, while excluding the tribal community from its scope. A committee headed by Justice Desai had also drafted the Bill in Madhya Pradesh.