Wedding ceremonies will remain traditional, says Uttarakhand government ahead of UCC rollout

The Cabinet approved the rules for the instrumentality Monday. Once the rules are rolled out, Uttarakhand volition go the archetypal authorities successful India to instrumentality the UCC.

“Whether it is ‘Saptapadi,’ ‘Nikah,’ ‘Ashirwad,’ ‘Holy Union,’ oregon ‘Anand Karaj’ nether the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, oregon a matrimony conducted nether the Special Marriage Act, 1954, oregon the Arya Marriage Validation Act, 1937—the Act respects each spiritual and customary practices,” the connection said.

It goes connected to say: “However, it is mandatory that the basal conditions mentioned successful the Act (such arsenic age, intelligence capacity, and lack of a surviving spouse) are fulfilled for the matrimony to beryllium valid. This ensures that the taste diverseness and spiritual state of the state’s radical are preserved portion adhering to cardinal ineligible standards of marriage”.

According to the latest authorities statement, though the Act recognises accepted matrimony ceremonies, it besides incorporates ineligible provisions nether which definite marriages tin beryllium declared void oregon voidable.

“If, aft the implementation of the Act, immoderate matrimony is recovered to interruption the basal conditions stipulated successful the Act—such arsenic 1 enactment having a surviving spouse astatine the clip of marriage, inability to supply valid consent owed to intelligence incapacity, oregon matrimony wrong prohibited relationships—such a matrimony volition beryllium considered void. In specified cases, either enactment tin record a petition successful tribunal to person the matrimony declared null and void,” the connection said.

However, children calved from specified a matrimony volition inactive beryllium considered legitimate, the connection said, calling this a “significant and affirmative feature” of the law.

“This proviso protects the ineligible rights of the children and reflects the Act’s sensitivity towards household welfare. By respecting divers matrimony ceremonies, establishing wide provisions for void and voidable marriages, and ensuring the legitimacy of children, the Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code Act, 2024 ensures some the preservation of taste values and ineligible clarity for each citizens of the state,” the connection said.

The connection comes conscionable aft the decision of section assemblage elections successful Uttarakhand Thursday. The support of the UCC manual Monday came conscionable up of the polls, erstwhile the Model Code of Conduct was inactive successful place.

The determination had drawn flak from the Congress, which wrote to the authorities predetermination committee seeking enactment against the BJP for alleged usurpation of the MCC.