Maharashtra UCC Panel puts live-in, women's property rights in focus

MUMBAI: A look at the Maharashtra government appointed Uniform Civil Code Panel's questions gives an indication that UCC proposed for Maharashtra may not be as stringent as the one in Uttarakhand, but will ignite questions on personal freedom and individual choice. Besides questions on polygamy, nikah-halala, the UCC website has questions on whether live-in partners should get civil protection like maintenance, inheritance and care. It asks questions on whether there should be a mandatory registration when a person begins a live-in relationship as well as terminates one. More importantly, it also questions whether any person can be allowed to dispose of his entire property through a will.

The seven-member drafting committee panel, headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Desai, has opened a website for the people, where 37 questions are being asked and citizens are asked to give in their opinions before November 15. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has already said that the state will bring in a UCC bill during the Winter assembly session in Nagpur at the end of the year.

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The questionnaire starts by asking whether a UCC is needed at this point of time and the following questions are about whether a UCC could be implemented without 'infringing on the right to religion' and whether the UCC's implementation would help in reducing legal disputes and making 'legal processes more efficient'.

It asks what should be the minimum age of marriage for both men and women and the options are 18, 21, 24 to 27. The Muslim community leadership has been opposed to a common code and several of the questions by the UCC Panel will raise their hackles. For instance, it asks whether there should be a standard list of relationships between couples within which marriage is prohibited. This question is meant to address the practice of marriages among cousins prevalent in the Muslim community. The other question on remarrying a divorced spouse, such as marrying a third person before such remarriage should be prohibited, pertains to Nikah halala. It asks whether there should be uniform provisions for intestate succession where a person dies without will irrespective of religion. Under Shariat, a daughter receives half than what the son receives.

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It also asks questions on 'should a person have the freedom to dispose of his or her entire property through a will? Live in relationships form a large part of the questionnaire, with questions being asked on whether the live-in relationship and its termination should be mandatorily registered.

The UCC bill would be interesting because of how its looks at the division of farm land and ancestral homes. The UCC has invited feedback on whether these assets should have a different succession framework compared to other properties. In most rural households, the farm land is bequeathed to the son along with the ancestral home.