UCC will be implemented in Maharashtra after committee report: CM Fadnavis
The Maharashtra state government confirmed that a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will be implemented in the state after a dedicated expert committee submits its final report.
The seven-member committee, constituted in mid-2026, is tasked with studying the legal, social, and administrative aspects of introducing a UCC for the state and recommending its framework.
The committee is chaired by a former Supreme Court judge and includes former High Court judges, a former state Chief Secretary, a former Advocate General, and other subject experts.
The committee was given a timeline of approximately six months to submit its report, after which the state government intends to finalise a draft bill for introduction in the state legislature.
Article 44 and the Uniform Civil Code as a Directive Principle
Article 44, placed in Part IV of the Constitution (Directive Principles of State Policy), states that "the State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India." A UCC envisages one common set of civil laws — governing marriage, divorce, adoption, succession and maintenance — applicable to all citizens irrespective of religion, replacing the current system of religion-specific personal laws.
Key Details
- Directive Principles under Part IV (Articles 36-51) are, per Article 37, not enforceable by any court but are declared "fundamental in the governance of the country," obliging the State to apply them in law-making.
- Article 44 is one of the few DPSPs still largely unimplemented at the national level, though Goa has retained a common civil code since before independence, and Uttarakhand became the first state to enact a full state-level UCC in 2024.
- The Supreme Court has, in several judgments (including Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India, 1995, and Shah Bano-related observations in Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum, 1985), urged the State to move towards a uniform civil code, though it has stopped short of directing Parliament to enact one, respecting the non-justiciable nature of DPSPs.
Maharashtra's committee-based approach mirrors the constitutional design of Article 44 as an aspirational, non-binding directive — states retain discretion over whether, when and how to legislate a UCC, rather than being under any enforceable constitutional obligation.
Legislative Competence Over Personal Law: The Concurrent List
Personal law subjects — marriage, divorce, adoption, succession, and joint family matters — fall under Entry 5 of the Concurrent List (List III) of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, meaning both Parliament and state legislatures have the power to legislate on them.
Key Details
- Because personal law sits in the Concurrent List rather than the Union List, individual states can enact their own civil code legislation without waiting for a central UCC law, as Uttarakhand did in 2024 and as Goa's continuing civil code (rooted in the pre-1961 Portuguese Civil Code, 1867) illustrates.
- Under Article 254, if a state law under the Concurrent List conflicts with an existing central law on the same subject, the central law generally prevails, unless the state law has received Presidential assent under Article 254(2).
- This shared legislative competence is why UCC implementation in India has proceeded piecemeal at the state level rather than through a single national enactment.
Maharashtra's UCC initiative is legally possible precisely because personal law is a Concurrent List subject; the state does not need Parliament to first enact a national UCC before framing its own state-level code, though any such law would still need to be tested for consistency with existing central personal law statutes and fundamental rights.
Precedents: Uttarakhand's UCC and the Goa Civil Code
Uttarakhand and Goa are currently the two examples of UCC-type frameworks operating within Indian states, offering institutional precedent and a comparative template for other states considering similar legislation.
Maharashtra's committee-driven process for drafting its UCC recommendations follows a similar structural approach to Uttarakhand's pre-legislative committee (chaired by a retired judge), suggesting a repeatable institutional model for other states weighing UCC legislation.
- Size of Maharashtra's UCC expert committee: 7 members
- Committee's mandated timeline to submit its report: approximately 6 months from constitution (formed mid-2026)
- Constitutional basis for a UCC: Article 44, Part IV (Directive Principles of State Policy)
- Legislative List under which personal law falls: Concurrent List (List III), Entry 5, Seventh Schedule
- First Indian state to fully enact and enforce a state-level UCC: Uttarakhand (Act passed 2024, presidential assent March 2024, in force from January 2025)
- Only other state with a long-standing common civil code: Goa (continuation of the Portuguese Civil Code, 1867)