Gandhinagar: The Gujarat Assembly on Tuesday passed the Gujarat Uniform Civil Code Bill by a majority vote, paving the way for implementation of a uniform civil code in the state. The bill was cleared after a marathon discussion of nearly eight hours, during which 16 members participated. The legislation was passed amid protests by Opposition parties, with Congress MLAs staging a walkout before the voting.

With the passage of the bill, Gujarat has become the second state after Uttarakhand to approve a law to introduce a Uniform Civil Code. The proposed law seeks to regulate personal civil matters such as marriage, divorce, succession, adoption and live-in relationships for residents of the state.

The bill has been brought by the state government on the basis of recommendations made by a committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Desai, which recently submitted its report. According to the government, the committee examined various personal laws as well as civil codes followed in countries such as France, Azerbaijan, Nepal, Germany and Turkey, along with landmark judicial decisions including the Shah Bano case.

Presenting the bill in the House, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said the Uniform Civil Code aims to end discrimination based on religion or caste and ensure equal justice for all citizens. He said the proposed law reflects the aspirations of people for a common legal framework and gives priority to equality and protection of women’s rights. Patel described the legislation as historic and said special emphasis has been placed on ensuring security and equal rights for women.

The Chief Minister also highlighted penal provisions in the bill, stating that violations could attract imprisonment of varying duration. He said provisions related to live-in relationships are intended to provide legal protection, especially for women, and added that cases involving minors would attract provisions of the POCSO Act. He also clarified that the bill will not apply to members of Scheduled Tribe communities and said the law is meant to remove discrimination without interfering with cultural traditions.

The Opposition Congress strongly objected to the bill, alleging that the government introduced it in haste with political motives. Senior Congress MLA Amit Chavda questioned how the law could be called uniform when certain communities are kept outside its scope, and demanded that the report of the Ranjana Desai committee should have been made public before introducing the bill.

Congress MLA Imran Khedawala opposed the legislation, saying it could distance Muslims from Shariat law, while MLA Shailesh Parmar also raised objections and demanded that the bill be referred to a select committee for detailed scrutiny. When the demand was not accepted, Congress MLAs present in the House walked out before the voting.

Defending the legislation, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi said the Uniform Civil Code was a long-standing promise and would create a common legal system for all citizens. He said the drafting committee received over 20 lakh suggestions from the public and noted that several countries across the world follow similar civil laws.

AAP MLA Chaitar Vasava, however, welcomed the exclusion of Scheduled Tribe communities from the bill and thanked the government for keeping tribal customs outside the scope of the proposed law. DeshGujarat