Delhi, February 4 (HS): After Uttarakhand, Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will be implemented in Gujarat too. For this, a five-member committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai. This committee will have to submit its report to the government in 45 days.

After Uttarakhand, Gujarat is going to become the second state to take the initiative to implement Uniform Civil Code.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said that the state government is moving towards ensuring equal rights and privileges for all citizens living in the state. A five-member committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai to examine the need for Uniform Civil Code in Gujarat and to draft the law. The members of the committee include senior retired IAS officer CL. Meena, Advocate R.C. Kodekar, former Vice Chancellor Dakshesh Thakar, social worker Geetaben Shroff have been included.

Regarding the plan to draft the Uniform Civil Code in the state, the Chief Minister said that the 75th anniversary of independence is being celebrated under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, in such a situation the Prime Minister has decided to implement the Uniform Civil Code across the country. Equal rights have to be ensured for all the citizens of the country. The BJP government does what it says. The promises made regarding one nation-one election, Article 370, triple talaq law etc. have been fulfilled one after the other. Now a resolution has been taken to implement the Uniform Civil Code. Gujarat is always committed to fulfill this resolution. It moves forward in the direction of ensuring equal rights and privileges for all the citizens living in the state. For this, a committee has been formed under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai, which will examine the need for a Uniform Civil Code in Gujarat and draft the law. This five-member committee also includes a senior retired IAS officer. CL Meena, RC Kodekar, Dakshesh Thakar, Geetaben Shroff have been included in it. This committee will study all the aspects and submit the report to the state government within 45 days. The government will take a decision based on this report.

Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi said that the state government has constituted a committee regarding UCC. This committee will prepare its report. The report will be prepared on the basis of the same rules which have been promised. Regarding the reasons behind the appointment of Ranjana Desai, he said that the selection is done on the basis of experience. He has extensive experience and has been a former Supreme Court judge. On whether this law will affect tribal rights or not, the Minister of State for Home said that the UCC model of the Uttarakhand government is wonderful. In this model, the rights of the tribal community have not been included in the Uniform Civil Code Act.

The Gujarat Home Minister also said during his Jharkhand meeting that the customs and laws of the tribal community will be fully protected. Gujarat has a division of residence on the basis of religion (Disturbed Act), which is decided on the basis of the incident. Therefore, this issue is not relevant. After the report comes within 45 days, the Chief Minister will take a decision and the bill will be introduced in the Assembly. There is also a separate law for Hindu Divided Family (HUF). This is not a law for any one society. People associated with religion will also be included in this committee. All reviews will be presented in the report.

Justice Ranjana Desai, the chairperson of the committee formed for Uniform Civil Code in Gujarat, has been a former judge of the Supreme Court. She gave decisions in many important cases while being a judge in the Supreme Court from 13 September 2011 to 29 October 2014. Justice Ranjana Desai has also been the chairperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission. Justice Desai, who started practicing law in the 70s, was a judge of the Bombay High Court before coming to the Supreme Court.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar