Overview
- The Maharashtra government announced the panel on Thursday, July 9, charging it with preparing a UCC framework and ordering a report within six months so a bill can be tabled in the Nagpur winter session.
- Retired Supreme Court justice Ranjana Prakash Desai will chair the seven‑member committee, which also includes two former Bombay High Court judges, a former chief secretary, a former advocate general, a constitutional expert and a social‑sector representative.
- Opposition parties and minority leaders have objected to the panel’s make‑up, noting the absence of Muslim and Christian representatives and demanding that any draft be published and wider consultations be held before legislation is finalised.
- State UCC proposals being discussed draw on measures used elsewhere, such as mandatory registration of marriages and live‑in relationships, a ban on polygamy and equal inheritance for sons and daughters, while often exempting Scheduled Tribes and customary laws.
- The move follows a pattern by BJP‑ruled states that have advanced UCCs after Uttarakhand’s law, and it could materially change how marriage, divorce and inheritance are governed for millions of people if Maharashtra proceeds to enact a bill.