Uttarakhand Governor returns UCC and Anti-Conversion Amendment Bills citing technical errors and clerical discrepancies. Government to revise and resubmit for legal clarity.
In a major development from Uttarakhand, the Governor has returned two key bills passed during the state assembly session in Gairsain on August 20. These include the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Amendment Bill and the amendment to the Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion and Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act. The Governor cited technical discrepancies and clerical errors as the reason for sending the bills back for reconsideration.
Objections Raised to the UCC Amendment Bill
The Governor’s office pointed out issues in Section 4 of the UCC Amendment Bill, which deals with penalties for marriages below the legal age.
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Dual Provisions: Clause 3 of Section 4 introduced a new punishment while retaining the existing clause, causing confusion and overlap.
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Legislative Conflict: The punishment clause had conflicts with the Child Marriage Act. While the bill removed explicit references to the Child Marriage Act, related punishment provisions remained, creating a legislative contradiction.
Clerical Errors in Anti-Conversion Amendment
The amendment to the Uttarakhand Anti-Conversion Act was also returned due to clerical errors that made the provisions unclear.
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Background: The Dhami government had strengthened the Act following the high-profile Chhangur case, including penalties of up to Rs 10 lakh and life imprisonment.
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Issue: Errors in the punishment sections across multiple clauses rendered the text legally ambiguous. The Governor has asked the government to resubmit a clear and legally robust version.
Government Response and Next Steps
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Ordinances to Avoid Delay: After receiving the Governor’s feedback, a high-level meeting involving the Legislative and Religious Affairs Departments was convened to discuss next steps.
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Immediate Action: To ensure the swift implementation of stricter provisions, the government may introduce ordinances for both bills.
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Current Status: The Religious Affairs Department is preparing revised drafts, and the UCC bill has been sent to the Home Department for further review.
This move marks a key turning point in Uttarakhand’s journey toward implementing the Uniform Civil Code and stricter anti-conversion laws, emphasizing the need for legal clarity and precision in legislative drafting.
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