Gujarat receives presidential approval for Uniform Civil Code law
India’s Gujarat state has received President Droupadi Murmu’s assent to legislation creating a Uniform Civil Code, becoming the second state after Uttarakhand to adopt such a measure. The law covers marriage, divorce, succession and live-in relationships, but opposition parties have criticised its purpose and raised questions about tribal communities.
Gujarat has become the second Indian state to receive approval to implement a Uniform Civil Code after President Droupadi Murmu assented to legislation passed by the state assembly. The Gujarat government is expected to announce rules for the code before the law takes effect. The assembly passed the bill in March following a seven-and-a-half-hour discussion, making Gujarat the second state after Uttarakhand to pass legislation establishing a common civil framework.
The bill proposes uniform rules for marriage, divorce, succession and live-in relationships regardless of religion. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said the measure would provide equal rights and would not discriminate against any community or restrict individual freedom. Patel described the legislation as a step intended to benefit women and girls in Gujarat.
He also linked the measure to the state’s development goals and said it would help accelerate progress towards a developed India by 2047. Opposition parties criticised both the substance of the bill and the way it was passed. Congress members staged a walkout before the legislation could be approved by voice vote and demanded that it be referred to a Select Committee.
Congress MLA Imran Khedawala called the bill harmful to society and said his party’s opposition was connected to its support for Quranic and Sharia principles. He also questioned the government’s record on issues affecting Muslim women. AAP MLA Chatar Vasavane alleged that the legislation was introduced for electoral purposes and said the government had not clarified how it would apply to tribal communities, including tribal women who marry into other communities.
The opposition also alleged that the bill had been fast-tracked before local body elections to address anti-incumbency against the Bharatiya Janata Party. Uttarakhand became the first Indian state to implement a Uniform Civil Code in February 2024. The policy was also among the BJP’s principal promises in its 2022 Uttarakhand Assembly election manifesto.
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