The Uttarakhand government on Monday implemented the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), making it the first state in the country to do so. 

According to a notification issued by the state government, the governor has invoked his powers to bring the UCC into effect starting January 27.

"ln exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of The Uniform Civil Code, Uttarakhand, 2024 (Act no 3 of 2024), the Govemor hereby appoints the date 27 January, 2025 as the date on which the said Code shall come into force," the notification said.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami officially inaugurated the UCC rules manual and launched the application portal for the new regulations at his camp office in Dehradun.  

The Cabinet had approved the rules manual on January 20, 2025.

President Droupadi Murmu granted her assent to Uttarakhand's UCC Bill last year.  

The State Assembly had passed the Bill on February 7, 2024, following the submission of the UCC final report by a five-member panel led by former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai to the Chief Minister.  

The Act, comprising 392 sections across seven schedules, is based on an extensive draft of over 750 pages spread across four volumes, prepared by an expert panel.  

Aimed at unifying various aspects of civil life under a single law, the UCC outlines permissible and prohibited relationships across faiths while respecting personal customary laws.