Uniform Civil Code (UCC)
Article 44 and Progressive Implementation
Article 44 of the Indian Constitution mandates the State to endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for all citizens. This directive has been operationalised only partially and incrementally at the national level through legislations such as the Hindu Code Bills of the 1950s. At the state level, Uttarakhand became the first state to enact a UCC (Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand Act, 2024; in force January 27, 2025). Assam's Bill follows this template with state-specific adaptations.
- Article 44 (Part IV, DPSP): Non-justiciable but fundamental to governance; courts cannot enforce it but can invoke it in judgments.
- Goa's UCC (Portuguese Civil Code, 1867; retained under Goa, Daman and Diu Administration Act, 1962): India's only pre-existing UCC — covers compulsory marriage registration, monogamy, equal spousal property rights.
- Supreme Court in Shah Bano (AIR 1985 SC 945): Explicitly called for UCC to resolve contradictions in personal law.
- Supreme Court in Sarla Mudgal v. UOI (1995) 3 SCC 635: Directed government to enact UCC; noted second marriages by Hindu men after conversion to Islam were bigamous.
● Tracked since May 25, 2026 · last seen May 27, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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