Uttarakhand is getting a Uniform Civil Code or UCC starting January 26th. One big change is that people in live-in relationships will have to register like they would for a marriage. To register you’ll need to give your Aadhaar details. The state got the go ahead from the President making it the first state in India to have a UCC. This new code aims to make personal laws such as marriage and relationships the same for everyone in the state no matter their community.
Another part of the UCC is that when someone makes a will the witnesses will need to be video recorded. There aren’t many details yet about how exactly people will register live-in relationships or what exactly counts as one. The main point of the UCC is to create clear and consistent personal laws across the board potentially fixing some issues that different religions and communities had. This change will make a big difference in how families and personal life are legally handled.
Implementing the UCC in Uttarakhand is a major legal event that could affect personal relationships and the legal system quite a bit. The need to register relationships and use Aadhaar is a core part of the law. People will be watching closely to see how these new laws impact the residents and the courts. This new code is supposed to make personal laws the same for everyone and that’s likely to bring a lot of changes for the people living in Uttarakhand.