Maharashtra forms 7-member UCC panel led by ex-SC judge Ranjana Desai

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has formed a seven-member committee to implement the uniform civil code (UCC), chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Thursday.

"In India's Constitution, under the Directive Principles of State Policy, it is stated that every state should work towards having a uniform civil code and, as per that, during the 2026 budget session, I had announced that we would be forming a committee to implement the uniform civil code in the state. We have now formed a panel that would be headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai," he said.

The other members of the committee are former Bombay High Court judges RC Chavan and SG Mehare, former Maharashtra chief secretary DK Jain, former advocate general Virendra Saraf, constitutional expert Ramesh Patange and educationalist and social worker Suvarna Rawal.


The panel is expected to submit its report within seven months for the framework of the uniform civil code bill. "It will be our endeavour to get the report and then, based on it, present the uniform civil code (bill) in both the Houses of the Nagpur winter session (that takes place at the end of the year)," he said.

Interestingly, Desai had earlier headed a panel that prepared the framework for Uttarakhand to implement UCC in the state. Uttarakhand was one of the first states to implement UCC. It was later implemented in BJP-ruled Gujarat and Assam.