THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
Dehradun, Feb 6: Under Uttarakhand’s proposed Uniform Civil Code, live-in partners will be required to register their relationship with district authorities or risk imprisonment once the law is enacted.
Another provision of the Uttarakhand, 2024 Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill states that children born from a live-in relationship are to be regarded as legitimate children.
The bill, which was introduced in the House on Tuesday by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, requires partners in a live-in relationship in the state to provide a statement of their relationship in a prescribed format to the Registrar in whose jurisdiction they are living, regardless of whether they are residents of Uttarakhand or not.
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Registrar to notify parents of individual below 21 years
The bill states that live-in relationships involving at least one partner who is a minor will not be eligible for registration. In cases where either partner is below 21 years old, the registrar will notify their parents or legal guardians.
Additionally, relationships in which one partner’s permission was acquired through coercion, fraud, undue influence, or other unfair means, and in which the other partner’s identity was falsely represented or concealed, shall not be registered.
Jail term and fine
According to the bill, anyone who continues a live-in relationship for longer than a month without registering it faces up to three months in jail, a fine of up to Rs 10,000, or both.
Individuals who provide false information regarding a live-in relationship to the Registrar may face a higher fine in addition to a maximum imprisonment of three months.
Maintenance claim
According to the bill, a woman in a live-in relationship who experiences her partner’s desertion has the right to file a maintenance claim against him. To do this, she can go to a competent court that has jurisdiction over the location of their last shared residence.
Bill not applicable to STs
The bill, which does not apply to the Scheduled Tribes, would establish a common law in Uttarakhand for all citizens, regardless of religion, regarding marriage, divorce, land, property, and inheritance.
