By Scroll Staff
The Chhattisgarh Cabinet on Wednesday decided to set up a high-level committee to prepare a draft of a uniform civil code for the state.
It has become the third Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state to take steps towards implementing such a code. While Uttarakhand began implementing a common personal law framework in January 2025, the Gujarat Assembly passed a uniform civil code bill on March 25.
The Uniform Civil Code refers to a common set of laws governing marriage, divorce, succession and adoption for all citizens. Currently, the personal affairs of religious and tribal groups are based on community-specific laws, largely derived from religious scripture.
Chhattisgarh’s Uniform Civil Code panel will be headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai. She had also headed the committees based on whose recommendations the Uttarakhand and Gujarat governments framed their Uniform Civil Code bills.
On Wednesday, the Chhattisgarh government said that in order to create a draft law that “simplifies and unifies” personal laws of diverse communities and to make such a code legally sound, the committee will invite suggestions from citizens and experts.
The draft law will later be presented before the state cabinet and Assembly, the government said.
“As envisaged under Article 44 of the Constitution of India, the move towards a Uniform Civil Code is aimed at ensuring legal uniformity, simplifying judicial processes, and promoting religious as well as gender equality,” The Hindu quoted an unidentified government official as saying.
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