Right to privacy, protection of children: Uttarakhand govt's key arguments in response to UCC pleas

The next hearing in the case in the Uttarakhand High Court is scheduled for April 22.

Responding to a number of petitions challenging the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the Uttarakhand High Court, the state government has submitted an affidavit and has argued that national integration, gender equality and protection of children born out of live-in relationships are some of its major aspects.

The state in its affidavit dismissed privacy concerns raised by the petitioners for mandatory registrations, according to sources familiar to the matter, Indian Express reported.

The Uttarakhand High Court, led by Chief Justice G Narendar and Justice Alok Mehra, on Wednesday directed the state government to respond to UCC pleas within 48 hours.

Over half a dozen petitions have been filed which have questioned live-in relationship provisions and their impact or marriage and legitimacy of children. In one petition, a live-in couple has opposed the registration requirement over privacy, while others have raised constitutional and women's rights concerns in the pleas.

Key arguments Uttarakhand made in its affidavit:

According to an Indian Express report, the state government has made several arguments in its affidavit supporting the implementation of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttarakhand.

- The UCC reflects evolving ideas that value individual rights and gender equality over archaic customary practices. According to it, the UCC will only contribute to “national integration” through a unified legal system and that this uniformity will help mitigate possibilities for divisive politics based on religious identities.

- In its affidavit, the state also argued that while mandatory registration of marriages is to ensure “stability” of marital ties and its regulation, punitive action for failure to register live-in relationships is meant to “deter” criminal activity and future offences.

- According to the IE report, the state is also learnt to have claimed that there is a lacuna in addressing the interest of children born out of wedlock and “deserted” women and although the Supreme Court has held that children cannot be treated as illegitimate, the absence of documentation poses difficulties in establishing paternity and inheritance, which the UCC will address.

- On the contention of right to privacy, the government in the affidavit stated that the registrar is just a collector of information and that there are safeguards to secure this information to prevent surveillance.

- The state has also dismissed concerns that the UCC registration being linked to Aadhaar could lead to surveillance as an absurdity and an impossibility, stating that this information was merely to maintain records, IE reported.

- On the petitioner’s argument that the law cannot be applied to an Uttarakhand native who no longer lives in the state, the affidavit learnt to have claimed the state is authorised to make laws with extraterritorial application provided there is a nexus between the state and citizen.

The Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand Act, 2024, was passed in the Uttarakhand Assembly in February last year, with the rules under it coming into effect this January. The next hearing in the case in the Uttarakhand High Court is scheduled for April 22.