 Bill during a special meeting held at Jagdishpur near Bhopal.jpg)
Madhya Pradesh Cabinet approved the draft
Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill during a special meeting held at Jagdishpur near
Bhopal
¨
Madhya Pradesh Cabinet
approved the draft Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill on 19 July 2026 during a
special meeting held at Jagdishpur near Bhopal.
¨
The Bill is scheduled to
be introduced in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly during the Monsoon
Session, which began on 20 July 2026.
¨
A Uniform Civil Code
(UCC) proposes a common set of civil laws for all citizens on matters such as
marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, and live-in relationships.
¨
Article 44 of the
Constitution of India places the Uniform Civil Code under the Directive
Principles of State Policy (DPSPs).
¨
The Bill proposes
monogamy for all religions.
¨
It seeks to prohibit
polygamy, nikah halala, and triple talaq.
¨
The legal marriage age
remains 21 years for men and 18 years for women.
¨
The Bill makes marriage
registration compulsory at all administrative levels.
¨
It provides equal
inheritance and property rights to both sons and daughters.
¨
The draft mandates
registration of live-in relationships within one month.
¨
It prescribes up to five
years of imprisonment for married persons entering into a live-in relationship.
¨
Scheduled Tribes (STs)
and Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) living in protected areas are
exempt from the provisions of the Bill.
¨
The exemption protects
their customary practices, traditional social structures, and cultural
identity.
¨
The draft Bill was
prepared after receiving more than 9.5 lakh public suggestions.
¨ If enacted, Madhya Pradesh will become the fourth Indian state to implement a Uniform Civil Code, after Uttarakhand, Gujarat, and Assam.
¨ Triple talaq was criminalised at the national level through the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019.
