Live-In Relationship To Be Kept Out Of Central Uniform Civil Code Draft, Says Report

New Delhi: Live-in relationship, which hogged the spotlight with Uttarakhand’s new law requiring unmarried cohabiting couples to notify officials about their relationship, may not feature in the proposed central law on the Uniform Civil Code as it does not fall within its purview, TNIE reported quoting a highly-placed source within the Law Ministry.

Earlier this month, the Uttarakhand became the first state to implement UCC, sparking discussions in the public sphere regarding privacy and individual freedom. It is now obligatory for partners in the state to register their live-in relationships or face severe penalties like jail term of up to three months or a fine of up to Rs 10,000, or both.

Senior officials of the Law Commission, which has been tasked with formulating a nationwide UCC, are reportedly against bringing in live-in relationships under its ambit. “The institution of marriage is sacrosanct and live-in relationships cannot replace it. The UCC is about common family law for all religious communities on matters such as marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance and succession. Co-habitation doesn’t come under the purview of the UCC. But the Uttarakhand UCC has given it a status of marriage now,” the report quoted a top official as saying.

It is pertinent to mention here that live-in relationships is categorised as domestic relationships under the 2005 Domestic Violence Act and also has provisions for maintenance. “In the Uttarakhand UCC, a child born from such a registered live-in relationship will be treated as legitimate,” the official added.

With BJP-governed states – Assam and Gujarat – also contemplating introducing their own UCC bills, the official expressed concerns about the potential constitutional complexities that may arise.“Though states can enact some of the personal laws, the central law prevails in some cases,” he said.

Sources further said that the BJP is also likely to promote a national narrative on the UCC during the upcoming general elections.  “The enforcement of the UCC in Uttarakhand is a social change. It will be discussed on all forums and face legal scrutiny. A secular country cannot have religion-based civil codes,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah had recently said.