The tenure of the committee to draft Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttarakhand was extended yet another time, according to an official order.
The tenure was extended by four months, which is the third extension given to the panel whose tenure was to end on September 27.
The order informing about the extension of tenure was issued by Additional Chief Secretary Radha Raturi on Friday.
The panel which is headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai was constituted on May 27 last year. The committee was supposed to submit a draft of the UCC to the Uttarakhand government by the end of June this year.
The BJP had promised to implement UCC in Uttarakhand in the run up to the Assembly polls in the state last year.
After being voted to power for a consecutive term, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami gave his nod to setting up a committee to draft the UCC at the first cabinet meeting headed by him.
The state government had constituted the committee of experts under retired Supreme Court judge Desai to examine various existing laws regulating personal civil matters of the residents of Uttarakhand and to prepare draft law or laws or suggest changes in existing laws on such subjects as marriage, divorce, property rights, succession, inheritance, adoption, maintenance, custody, and guardianship.
The five-member committee got its first extension of six months in November 2022, and the second of four months in May this year.
With the demands over the nationwide implementation of UCC, the delay in the draft of the UCC in Uttarakhand is seen as a concern for the BJP.
(With PTI inputs)
