How similar are Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Assam’s Uniform Civil Codes?

Uttarakhand (February 27, 2025), Gujarat (March 24, 2026), and Assam have each enacted their own Uniform Civil Codes — making them the first three states in ...

What Happened

Uttarakhand (February 27, 2025), Gujarat (March 24, 2026), and Assam have each enacted their own Uniform Civil Codes — making them the first three states in independent India (beyond Goa) to do so.
West Bengal is now set to table a UCC bill in its August 2026 Assembly session, with a committee led by a retired Supreme Court judge submitting recommendations by early July 2026.
All three existing state UCCs share a common architecture — uniform minimum marriage age, prohibition of polygamy, mandatory marriage registration, and tribal exemptions — while differing primarily in enforcement mechanisms and penalty structures.

Static Topic Bridges

Article 44 of the Constitution — Directive Principle on UCC

Article 44 falls under Part IV (Directive Principles of State Policy) of the Constitution. It reads: "The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India." Being a DPSP under Article 37, it is non-justiciable — courts cannot enforce it directly — but it is "fundamental in the governance of the country" and must guide state law-making.

Article 37 makes DPSPs non-enforceable in courts but binding in spirit on legislatures.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, while advocating for a UCC, agreed to place it in the DPSPs given India's religious diversity at the time of framing.
The Supreme Court in Shah Bano Begum v. Union of India (1985) and Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India (1995) repeatedly urged Parliament to enact a UCC but no central legislation has followed.
In John Vallamattom v. Union of India (2003), the Supreme Court noted that Goa (which follows the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867) is a "shining example" of a UCC already in practice.

Connection to this news: The three state UCCs are the first legislative fulfilment of Article 44's directive at the subnational level since Goa's inherited colonial code. They test the constitutional validity of state legislatures enacting personal law reforms — an area usually occupied by Parliament under the Concurrent List.

Personal Laws and the Legislative Framework

India's personal laws are a patchwork of religion-specific statutes governing marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption. These include the Hindu Succession Act (1956), the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act (1937), the Indian Succession Act (1925) for Christians and Parsis, and the Special Marriage Act (1954) for inter-religious marriages.

Personal laws derive from Entry 5 of the Concurrent List (List III, Seventh Schedule) — "Marriage and divorce; infants and minors; adoption; wills, intestacy and succession; joint family and partition."
Both Parliament and state legislatures can legislate on Concurrent List subjects; where they conflict, the central law prevails (Article 254).
The UCCs enacted by Uttarakhand, Gujarat, and Assam effectively supersede religion-based personal laws within those states for the subjects they cover.
Goa's Uniform Civil Code is the only pre-existing model in India, inherited from Portuguese colonial law and never repealed after 1961.

Connection to this news: By invoking their concurrent legislative competence, state governments can lawfully enact UCCs without waiting for Parliament. The three state laws are therefore constitutionally valid exercises of power — though they may face judicial challenge on specific provisions.

Tribal Exemptions and Constitutional Protections

All three state UCCs explicitly exclude Scheduled Tribes from their application. This reflects the constitutional protection of tribal customary practices.

Article 13(3) read with the Fifth and Sixth Schedules protects tribal customary laws in designated areas.
The Fifth Schedule covers tribal areas in states other than the Northeast; the Sixth Schedule provides autonomous district councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura.
Exclusion of tribes from UCC scope mirrors the approach of the Special Marriage Act (1954), which has never overridden tribal personal law.
West Bengal's proposed bill also includes exemptions for tribal, Kurmi, and other recognised ancient ethnic communities.

Connection to this news: The uniform tribal exemption across all three state UCCs signals an emerging legislative consensus — that personal law uniformity is pursued for the non-tribal majority while constitutional protections for Indigenous communities are preserved.

Key Provisions Compared: The Three State Models

The three UCCs converge on core reforms but diverge on enforcement.

Marriage age: All three — 21 years for men, 18 years for women; no exception for religious custom.
Polygamy: Prohibited uniformly; violations carry criminal penalties.
Mandatory registration: All three require registration of marriages (and live-in relationships), shifting legal recognition from ceremony to state record.
Live-in relationships: Uttarakhand pioneered legal recognition and compulsory registration; Assam largely mirrors this. Gujarat adds stricter non-registration penalties.
Succession: All three adopt identical Class I/Class II heir structures (spouses, children, parents receive equal shares); intestate succession is gender-neutral; valid wills override the UCC default.
Enforcement: Uttarakhand — moderate administrative penalties; Gujarat — substantial financial penalties; Assam — both fines and imprisonment for certain non-compliance (most stringent of the three).

Connection to this news: The Uttarakhand model is functioning as the legislative template. Gujarat and Assam largely adopted it with local modifications, and West Bengal is expected to follow the same architecture. This "model law" pattern at the state level mirrors how the Model Code of Criminal Procedure was adopted across states.

Key Facts & Data

Uttarakhand became the first state to implement a UCC: February 27, 2025.
Gujarat became the second state: March 24, 2026.
Assam is the third state; West Bengal's bill is expected in August 2026.
Goa remains the only state with a pre-existing UCC (Portuguese Civil Code, 1867).
Article 44, Part IV of the Constitution — the DPSP directing a national UCC.
Entry 5, Concurrent List (Seventh Schedule) — legislative basis for state UCC enactments.
Supreme Court references: Shah Bano (1985), Sarla Mudgal (1995), John Vallamattom (2003) — all urged a national UCC.
West Bengal's draft UCC committee: chaired by a retired Supreme Court judge; report due within four weeks of June 2026.
All three state UCCs exempt Scheduled Tribes from their application.
Intestate succession under all three UCCs: gender-neutral Class I/II heir framework; valid wills are not disturbed.