Rajasthan Cabinet approves UCC bill mandating registration of live-in relationships, polygamy ban

The Rajasthan Cabinet on Thursday approved a bill on Uniform Civil Code to ban polygamy and make the registration of marriages and divorces mandatory within 60 days, The Hindu reported.

The bill, approved ahead of the imposition of the model code of conduct for the upcoming panchayat and local body elections, will be introduced in the Assembly during its monsoon session beginning on August 20

Rajasthan is the fifth Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state to move towards implementing a common personal law framework.

The Uniform Civil Code aims to introduce a common set of laws governing marriage, divorce, succession and adoption for all citizens. Currently, such personal affairs of different religions are based on community-specific laws, largely derived from religious scripture.

The Rajasthan bill has proposed provisions to establish equal property rights for sons and daughters across religions, irrespective of their personal laws, reported The Hindu.

The bill also proposes mandatory registration or written intimation of the beginning and end of live-in relationships.

The Uniform Civil Code would not apply to Scheduled Tribes and communities whose customary rights are protected under the Constitution, the newspaper quoted minister Jogaram Patel as saying.

The bill is based on the recommendations of a high-level committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai to draft the legislative framework for the Uniform Civil Code.

Desai also...

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