Madhya Pradesh Set to Implement Uniform Civil Code: Constitutional and Comparative Framework
The state government of Madhya Pradesh has announced plans to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) across the state in the near term.
The Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly had earlier passed the Madhya Pradesh Uniform Civil Code Bill, 2026, which now awaits implementation through rules and notification.
The Bill was drafted following recommendations of a seven-member expert committee headed by a former Supreme Court judge, tasked with examining the legal, social and administrative aspects of a state-level UCC.
Madhya Pradesh becomes the latest state to move toward a Uniform Civil Code, following Uttarakhand's enactment in 2024, and joins the wider policy debate around Article 44 of the Constitution.
Article 44: Uniform Civil Code as a Directive Principle
Article 44, placed in Part IV (Directive Principles of State Policy) of the Constitution, directs the State to "endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India." Unlike Fundamental Rights in Part III, DPSPs are not judicially enforceable but are considered fundamental in governance, and courts have periodically urged the State to move toward this goal.
Madhya Pradesh's move to implement a state UCC is a direct legislative response to the Article 44 directive, using the Concurrent List competence to enact a state-specific civil code rather than waiting for a central law.
Precedents: Goa's Civil Code and Uttarakhand's UCC, 2024
Two prior models exist for a Uniform Civil Code in India: Goa's continuation of the Portuguese Civil Code, and Uttarakhand's UCC Act, the first UCC enacted by an Indian state after Independence.
Madhya Pradesh's implementation follows the precedent set by Uttarakhand in 2024-25, extending the model of a state-level UCC that excludes Scheduled Tribes to preserve their constitutionally protected customary practices under the Fifth/Sixth Schedule framework.
Institutional Process: Expert Committee Model for Drafting State UCCs
States moving toward a UCC have adopted a common institutional process: constituting an expert committee, usually headed by a retired judge, to study feasibility, hold public consultations, and submit a draft bill within a defined timeframe.
Key Details
- The Madhya Pradesh committee, headed by a former Supreme Court judge, was constituted to examine the feasibility and framework of a state UCC and submitted a draft report recommending exclusion of Scheduled Tribes from its purview.
- The same retired judge has headed similar UCC drafting committees constituted by other states, reflecting a common institutional template for state-level UCC processes following the Uttarakhand precedent.
- The Madhya Pradesh Bill was approved by the state cabinet before being tabled and passed in the state Legislative Assembly by voice vote in 2026.
The announcement of implementation follows the standard sequence seen across states pursuing a UCC — expert committee recommendation, cabinet approval, and legislative passage — before the law is brought into force through executive notification.
- Article 44 (Part IV, DPSP): directs the State to endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for all citizens.
- Concurrent List, Entry 5 (Seventh Schedule): covers marriage, divorce, adoption and succession — the legislative basis for both central and state UCC laws.
- Goa: only state with a pre-existing common civil code, based on the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867.
- Uttarakhand: first state in independent India to enact and implement a post-Independence UCC; passed February 2024, in force from 27 January 2025.
- Madhya Pradesh Uniform Civil Code Bill, 2026: passed by the state Legislative Assembly in 2026; drafted with input from a seven-member expert committee headed by a former Supreme Court judge.
- Common UCC provisions across states: ban on polygamy, triple talaq and nikah halala; mandatory registration of marriages/divorces; minimum marriage age (21 years for men, 18 years for women); exemption for Scheduled Tribe communities.