UCC rollout: Amit Shah sets 2029 deadline for BIP-ruled states, Maharashtra yet to begin consultations

Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Mumbai on Sunday. (Express Photo by Akash Patil)

Maharashtra’s seven-member committee, tasked with preparing the state’s Uniform Civil Code (UCC) draft, has met only once even as Union Home Minister Amit Shah set a 2029 deadline to implement the proposal in all 21 BJP NDA-ruled states.

Addressing a gathering on Sunday, Amit Shah announced that UCC would be implemented in all NDA-ruled states before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

A day later, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the Maharashtra committee was preparing the draft, and UCC implementation would begin soon after. In fact, Fadnavis also said the state government aims to table the UCC Bill in the Assembly during the winter session in December.

In July, the committee was granted six months’ time to submit its report. Headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai, it has met only once.

The committee also includes former Bombay High Court (HC) judges RC Chavan and SG Mehare, former Maharashtra Chief Secretary D K Jain, former Advocate General Birendra Saraf, social activist and Padma Shri awardee Ramesh Patange, and education expert Suvarna Rawal.

Officials said the committee met once last month and is expected to meet again soon to decide on the process for preparing the draft and recommendations. The panel is also likely to seek public views before finalising its draft.

A questionnaire on UCC-related issues such as marriage, divorce, live-in relationships, inheritance and adoption will also be prepared to seek and gather views from stakeholders and the public, including youngsters, officials said.

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The consultation could be carried out through a website, similar to the process followed in Uttarakhand, and may also involve legal and paralegal volunteers, officials said.

Uttarakhand became the first state to implement the UCC in January 2025. Gujarat, Assam, and Madhya Pradesh have since passed UCC Bills, but their laws are awaiting final approval from the President, according to the state government.

Amit Shah’s announcement on Sunday came as the BJP-led NDA seeks to take the UCC to all 21 states under its rule before the next Lok Sabha election. In Maharashtra, the government’s next step is to prepare the state draft and committee recommendations.

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