MP UCC Bill: Cabinet gives green signal to Uniform Civil Code in Madhya Pradesh, married men living in live-in will go straight to jail

Bhopal/Lucknow. After Uttarakhand, now the way has been completely cleared for the implementation of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in another big state of the country. According to an exclusive report by Moneycontrol Hindi, the Madhya Pradesh Cabinet has given its formal approval to the final draft of UCC in the state. This decision taken in this high level cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister is going to bring an epoch-making change in the social and legal system of the state. In this new law of UCC, many very strict and historic provisions have been made to protect women’s rights and bring uniformity in marriage systems, in which the most discussed are the strict rules made regarding live-in relationship rules.

If a married man continues to live-in, he will get harsh jail sentence.

Madhya Pradesh Uniform Civil Code Bill adds some of the country’s strictest laws to regularize live-in relationships and prevent its abuse:

• Screws on married men: According to the provisions of the new law, if an already married man lives in a live-in relationship with another woman without giving a legal divorce to his wife, it will be considered a serious and cognizable offence.

• Provision for direct jail: If found guilty in such cases, the man will face straight jail sentence and heavy fine. This step has been taken to protect the rights of the first wife and to save the family from disintegration.

Live-in registration becomes mandatory, if you hide the truth you will have to face consequences.

The draft approved by the Cabinet sets out strict rules for every live-in couple:

1. Mandatory Registration: Any live-in partner living in the state will now have to compulsorily register their relationship with the district administration.

2. Penalty for giving wrong information: If a couple gives false information about their marital status, age or identity at the time of registration, or lives together secretly without registration, they can face heavy financial fines as well as imprisonment.

3. Youth Safety: The main objective of this rule is to curb fraud, domestic violence and crimes taking place in live-in relationships.

Complete ban on polygamy and equal rights for daughters in ancestral property

Apart from live-in, this UCC bill of Madhya Pradesh will apply equally to all citizens of the state without any religion or caste discrimination:

• End of polygamy: After the implementation of the law, no citizen in the state will be allowed to marry for the second time while the first wife/husband is alive. The rule of monogamy will be mandatory for all religions.

• Equal rights for girls: Daughters will get exactly equal legal rights as sons in ancestral property. Besides, the process of adoption and rules of succession will also be made uniform for all communities.

After getting approval from the Cabinet, this historic bill will now be tabled in the upcoming assembly session, where it will be passed as law. Political analysts believe that this step of Madhya Pradesh government will create a new model of implementing UCC for other states of the country also.