Dehradun: The Uttarakhand government has implemented the Uniform Civil Code (Amendment) Ordinance 2026 for necessary amendments in the Uniform Civil Code, Uttarakhand 2024, after the approval of the Governor. This ordinance has been issued by Governor Lieutenant General Gurmeet Singh (Retd) under Article 213 of the Constitution. This has come into effect with immediate effect.
Let us tell you that on January 27, 2025, Uniform Civil Code Uttarakhand 2024 was implemented in Uttarakhand. Tomorrow, on January 27, 2026, it will be one year since UCC was implemented in Uttarakhand. Uttarakhand government is also celebrating this day as UCC Day. Many programs will be organized across the state on this occasion. After the implementation of this law, amendments were made from time to time to address the circumstances and to remove some of the existing loopholes in the law.
Last year, in August 2025, some amendments were made in the UCC, which were sent to Lok Bhavan (Raj Bhavan) for approval, but there were some technical flaws in the proposal, due to which Lok Bhavan returned the UCC amendment proposal on 18 December 2025. After this, removing those shortcomings, the UCC amendment proposal was placed before the Cabinet on January 15, on which the Cabinet approved the necessary amendments through an ordinance. This amendment proposal was sent to Lok Bhawan by the Endowment and Culture Department for the approval of the Governor. Today, on January 26, the Governor has approved the amendment proposal of UCC.
These key points will come into effect after the amendment
- In place of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, the Indian Civil Protection Code, 2023 and the Indian Judicial Code, 2023 have been implemented for penal provisions.
- Under Section 12, ‘Additional Secretary’ has been designated as the competent authority in place of ‘Secretary’.
- In case the Sub-Registrar does not take action within the prescribed time limit, a provision has been made to automatically forward the case to the Registrar and Registrar General.
- The right of appeal has been provided against the penalty imposed on the sub-registrar and a provision has been added to recover the penalty like land revenue.
- Misrepresentation regarding identity at the time of marriage has been made a ground for annulment.
- Strict penal provisions have been ensured for force, pressure, fraud or illegal acts in marriage and live-in relationships.
- There is a provision for issuance of termination certificate by the registrar upon termination of live-in relationship.
- In Schedule-2, the word ‘spouse’ has been substituted for the word ‘widow’.
- The Registrar General has been given the power to cancel registration related to marriage, divorce, live-in relationship and inheritance.