The Crossbill News Desk
More than a year after the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttarakhand, the law remains largely unenforceable on the ground due to technical delays in integrating its provisions into the national police database system, according to a report by The Hindu.
The situation has raised questions about the preparedness of authorities to operationalise the legislation despite its formal rollout in January 2025 by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state.
The UCC provisions have not yet been incorporated into the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), the centralised digital platform that connects police stations across India for registering FIRs, filing chargesheets, and managing investigation records.
Developed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the system was designed to digitise police records, enable real-time tracking of crimes and criminals, and facilitate services such as online complaint filing and faster investigations through unified national data access.
The implementation gap surfaced when Shaheen, a resident of Haridwar, approached the Buggawala police station with allegations of domestic violence, dowry harassment, and divorce through triple talaq. She alleged that she faced physical assault and mental harassment shortly after marriage due to dowry demands and that her husband pronounced triple talaq.
The complainant also alleged that when she asked him to reconsider the decision, he told her to first undergo halala, the practice involving a divorced Muslim woman marrying another man, consummating the marriage, and then divorcing him to remarry her first husband, reported The Hindu.
Based on her complaint, police registered an FIR on April 4 under provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. However, sections 30 and 32 of the UCC, which specifically penalise practices such as triple talaq and halala, were not invoked.
A senior police officer cited by newspaper said the omission was due to the absence of the UCC provisions in the CCTNS database.
“A request for addition of the UCC sections has to be sent to the Union Home Department from the State Home Department. I cannot comment on whether the State Home Department has sent the request to the Centre or if the Central authorities are responsible for the delay,” said the officer.
Efforts by the newspaper to seek a response from Uttarakhand Director General of Police Deepam Seth reportedly did not yield any comment.
The development triggered sharp criticism from the opposition Congress, which accused the Pushkar Singh Dhami-led government of failing to ensure effective enforcement of the law.
“This delay shows that the BJP is not serious about the UCC or delivering justice to any community or gender. This law is nothing but an overhyped marriage registration platform. All that this party is interested in is winning elections by dividing people,” said state Congress vice president and All India Congress Committee member Suryakant Dhasmana.
The episode has reignited debate over whether legislative announcements are being matched by administrative readiness, with questions emerging over coordination between state and central authorities in operationalising one of the government’s most politically significant reforms.
The situation has raised questions about the preparedness of authorities to operationalise the legislation despite its formal rollout in January 2025 by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state.
The UCC provisions have not yet been incorporated into the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), the centralised digital platform that connects police stations across India for registering FIRs, filing chargesheets, and managing investigation records.
Developed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the system was designed to digitise police records, enable real-time tracking of crimes and criminals, and facilitate services such as online complaint filing and faster investigations through unified national data access.
The implementation gap surfaced when Shaheen, a resident of Haridwar, approached the Buggawala police station with allegations of domestic violence, dowry harassment, and divorce through triple talaq. She alleged that she faced physical assault and mental harassment shortly after marriage due to dowry demands and that her husband pronounced triple talaq.
The complainant also alleged that when she asked him to reconsider the decision, he told her to first undergo halala, the practice involving a divorced Muslim woman marrying another man, consummating the marriage, and then divorcing him to remarry her first husband, reported The Hindu.
Based on her complaint, police registered an FIR on April 4 under provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. However, sections 30 and 32 of the UCC, which specifically penalise practices such as triple talaq and halala, were not invoked.
A senior police officer cited by newspaper said the omission was due to the absence of the UCC provisions in the CCTNS database.
“A request for addition of the UCC sections has to be sent to the Union Home Department from the State Home Department. I cannot comment on whether the State Home Department has sent the request to the Centre or if the Central authorities are responsible for the delay,” said the officer.
Efforts by the newspaper to seek a response from Uttarakhand Director General of Police Deepam Seth reportedly did not yield any comment.
The development triggered sharp criticism from the opposition Congress, which accused the Pushkar Singh Dhami-led government of failing to ensure effective enforcement of the law.
“This delay shows that the BJP is not serious about the UCC or delivering justice to any community or gender. This law is nothing but an overhyped marriage registration platform. All that this party is interested in is winning elections by dividing people,” said state Congress vice president and All India Congress Committee member Suryakant Dhasmana.
The episode has reignited debate over whether legislative announcements are being matched by administrative readiness, with questions emerging over coordination between state and central authorities in operationalising one of the government’s most politically significant reforms.
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