Overview
- The state government on Monday constituted a high-level committee led by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai with a four-week mandate to prepare a UCC draft for Bengal.
- Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the draft will be placed before the state cabinet on July 2 and that the government aims to introduce a final Bill in the Assembly during the extended Budget session in August.
- The proposed code would replace religion-based personal laws on marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption with a single civil framework while excluding constitutionally recognised tribal and certain indigenous communities.
- Trinamool Congress leaders have organised coordinated resistance inside and outside the House and rival TMC factions are racing to lead the opposition, but the BJP’s comfortable Assembly majority gives it a clear path to passage once the Bill is tabled.
- The government plans to model Bengal’s UCC on recent laws from Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Assam, a step that invites likely constitutional litigation under Article 25 and prompts debate over Article 44 and minority rights.