The Rajasthan Cabinet on Thursday approved a bill on Uniform Civil Code to ban polygamy and make the registration of marriages and divorces mandatory within 60 days, The Hindu reported.

The bill, approved ahead of the imposition of the model code of conduct for the upcoming panchayat and local body elections, will be introduced in the Assembly during its monsoon session beginning on August 20

Rajasthan is the fifth Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state to move towards implementing a common personal law framework.

The Uniform Civil Code aims to introduce a common set of laws governing marriage, divorce, succession and adoption for all citizens. Currently, such personal affairs of different religions are based on community-specific laws, largely derived from religious scripture.

The Rajasthan bill has proposed provisions to establish equal property rights for sons and daughters across religions, irrespective of their personal laws, reported The Hindu.

The bill also proposes mandatory registration or written intimation of the beginning and end of live-in relationships.

The Uniform Civil Code would not apply to Scheduled Tribes and communities whose customary rights are protected under the Constitution, the newspaper quoted minister Jogaram Patel as saying.

The bill is based on the recommendations of a high-level committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai to draft the legislative framework for the Uniform Civil Code.

Desai also headed committees that drafted Uniform Civil Codes for Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Gujarat. In July, the Maharashtra government also constituted a committee headed by her to prepare a draft Uniform Civil Code for the state.

BJP and UCC

Introducing a common personal law has for long been on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s agenda and several states ruled by the party have been making advances towards implementing it.

In January 2025, BJP-ruled Uttarakhand became the first state to implement the Uniform Civil Code after independence. The Gujarat Assembly cleared a similar legislation in March amid protests by the Opposition. A common civil code has been in place in Goa since the Portuguese Civil Code was adopted in 1867.

The Assam Assembly on May 27 passed the Uniform Civil Code bill seeking to ban polygamy and make the registration of live-in relationships compulsory. The Opposition had demanded that the bill be sent to a select committee for scrutiny.

Edited by Sneha.

Also read: ‘Women’s rights’ are a convenient cover for UCC’s intrusive provisions

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