With the Uniform Civil Code now in force, family courts will apply a unified legal framework to disputes relating to marriage, divorce, live-in relationships, and maintenance.
NEW DELHI: For decades, the Uniform Civil Code, or UCC, remained trapped between constitutional aspiration, political controversy and television debate.That phase is over.UCC has now entered the domain where matrimonial law produces real consequences: the Family Court.
It can determine how a marriage is recorded, how divorce is obtained, how maintenance is calculated, how a live-in relationship is proved, which court hears the dispute and which documents survive allegations, denials and contradictory narratives.
Article 44 of the Constitution directs the State to endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code throughout India. But Article 44 does not, by itself, replace existing marriage, divorce or maintenance laws. An enacted and commenced law is still necessary before a Family Court can enforce it.
That distinction is crucial because social-media headlines are already mixing up three separate events:
Introducing a Bill.
Passing a Bill.
Bringing the law into force.
In law, these are not the same thing.
UTTARAKHAND IS IN FORCE, GUJARAT IS NOT YET OPERATIONAL
The Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand, 2024 came into force on 27 January 2025. Uttarakhand’s official legal database also records the Uniform Civil Code Amendment Act, 2026, along with the applicable rules and subsequent amendments and received the Governor’s assent on 6 April 2026 and came into force immediately.
Among other changes, it replaced references to the old Code of Criminal Procedure with the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and strengthened several penal provisions dealing with forced marriage and prohibited live-in relationships.
Gujarat stands on a different legal footing.
The official document presently available is titled Gujarat Bill No. 17 of 2026 and is marked “As Introduced.” Section 1 expressly states that the Code will come into force on a date appointed by the State Government through a Gazette notification.
Therefore, until the commencement notification and operational rules are produced, provisions of the Gujarat Bill must be described as a proposed statutory framework, not as presently enforceable law.
WHAT WILL UCC CHANGE INSIDE FAMILY COURTS?
Family Courts—and other courts exercising original civil or Family Court jurisdiction—will continue to decide matrimonial disputes. What changes is the substantive law that those courts apply.
UCC frameworks can regulate:
- Marriage registration
- Divorce and judicial separation
- Interim maintenance
- Permanent alimony
- Child custody
- Matrimonial property disputes
- Live-in relationship registration
- Maintenance after live-in relationships
This means parties will increasingly be judged through registered records, financial disclosures and statutory duties rather than vague customs or convenient oral claims.
MARRIAGE REGISTRATION WILL BECOME CRUCIAL EVIDENCE
One of the strongest features of UCC is compulsory or structured marriage registration.
A registered record can help establish:
- The date of marriage
- Identity of the spouses
- Whether either spouse had an existing marriage
- Whether a divorce decree had become final
- Whether a subsequent marriage was legally valid
This may reduce disputes where one party denies the marriage, conceals an earlier marriage or produces contradictory dates during maintenance and divorce proceedings.
However, registration cannot legalise an otherwise invalid marriage. Courts must still examine consent, age, prohibited relationships, subsisting marriages and legally required ceremonies.
A certificate is evidence. It is not a licence to ignore fraud.
DIVORCE WILL REQUIRE A LEGAL PROCESS
The Gujarat UCC Bill proposes common grounds and procedures for divorce for the persons covered by it. These include grounds such as cruelty, desertion, adultery, conversion, mental disorder and mutual consent.
It also provides that a marriage covered by the Code cannot be dissolved except in accordance with its statutory provisions. Therefore, where judicial dissolution is required, a private declaration or community document cannot replace a legally recognised divorce decree.
The important change is that marital status must be determined through a legally recognised process. A private declaration, fabricated settlement or community document should not be permitted to replace a valid court decree where the law requires judicial dissolution.
This matters because the date and validity of divorce directly affect:
- The right to remarry
- Maintenance liability
- Succession and inheritance
- Bigamy allegations
- Property disputes
- Child custody proceedings
UCC may simplify divorce law, but it will not eliminate the need to prove allegations.
MAINTENANCE WILL BE THE REAL TEST OF EQUALITY
Maintenance is where the claim of uniformity will face its toughest test.
Under Sections 24 and 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, either the wife or husband may seek interim maintenance or permanent alimony, subject to financial circumstances.
However, Section 144 BNSS, which replaced Section 125 CrPC, continues to provide a summary spousal-maintenance remedy to a wife and not to a financially dependent husband.
The Gujarat UCC Bill proposes that either party to the matrimonial decree may seek permanent maintenance. The court may consider the income, estate, settlement, conduct and circumstances of both parties.
This is a significant movement towards gender-neutral maintenance.
A husband may be disabled, unemployed, financially dependent or may have sacrificed his career for the family. His dependency cannot become legally invisible merely because he is a man.
Depending upon the applicable statute and facts of the case, courts may consider::
- Actual income and assets
- Genuine liabilities
- Earning capacity of both spouses
- Duration of marriage
- Childcare responsibilities
- Health and disability
- Existing maintenance orders
- Standard of living during marriage
Maintenance should prevent destitution. It should not become punishment, profit or financial warfare.
COURTS MUST PREVENT MULTIPLE MAINTENANCE RECOVERIES
In the case of Rajnesh v. Neha (2021) 2 SCC 324, the Supreme Court directed parties in maintenance proceedings to file affidavits disclosing their assets and liabilities.
The Court also directed applicants to disclose previous maintenance cases and orders so that courts can grant adjustment or set-off and avoid conflicting liabilities.
This principle will remain important even under UCC.
One matrimonial dispute should not produce several undisclosed maintenance orders under different laws, followed by multiple execution proceedings against the same person.
Both parties must disclose the truth.
Both parties must disclose their income, assets, liabilities and previous maintenance proceedings or orders.Equality cannot exist where disclosure is demanded only from the person expected to pay.
LIVE-IN RELATIONSHIPS WILL ENTER OFFICIAL RECORDS
The most controversial UCC reform is the regulation of live-in relationships.
Uttarakhand already requires registration under its operational UCC framework. The Gujarat Bill proposes that partners living together must submit a statement to the Registrar. It also proposes registration of termination, police intimation and penalties for specified non-compliance.
Registration may provide evidence regarding:
- When cohabitation started
- Whether either partner was already married
- Shared residence
- Termination of the relationship
- Children born from the relationship
- Financial and maintenance claims
But mandatory registration also creates serious privacy questions.
Should two consenting adults be compelled to disclose their relationship to the State?
Should police automatically receive details of a private relationship?
How will the government protect the data from family pressure, harassment and moral policing?
Legal clarity is necessary. State surveillance is not.
EVERY LIVE-IN RELATIONSHIP IS NOT A MARRIAGE
Registration should not automatically convert every relationship into a marriage.
In the case of Indra Sarma v. V.K.V. Sarma (2013) 15 SCC 755, the Supreme Court clearly observed:
“All live-in relationships are not relationships in the nature of marriage.”
The person claiming marriage-like legal protection must prove relevant characteristics such as duration, shared household, financial arrangements, public representation and legal capacity to marry.
A temporary or casual relationship does not, by itself, establish a “relationship in the nature of marriage.” The person claiming such protection must prove the relevant marriage-like characteristics identified by the courts.The law must protect genuine dependency without converting every breakup into matrimonial litigation.
LIVE-IN MAINTENANCE IS STILL NOT GENDER-NEUTRAL
The Gujarat Bill proposes maintenance for a woman deserted by her live-in partner.
It does not provide an equivalent remedy to a financially dependent man deserted by his female partner.
That is not complete gender neutrality.
A woman may earn substantially more than her male partner. A man may leave employment to manage the household, become disabled or financially contribute towards property held by the woman.
If dependency is the justification for maintenance, the remedy must follow dependency—not gender.
DOES THE UCC REALLY TREAT MEN AND WOMEN EQUALLY?
The proposed UCC framework includes some important reforms:
- Common records for marriage and divorce
- Maintenance and permanent alimony for either spouse
- Better proof of live-in relationships
- Common legal grounds and procedures for divorce
- Protection of children regardless of whether their parents were married
However, several inequalities still remain:
- Live-in maintenance is available only to women
- A husband still cannot claim summary spousal maintenance under Section 144 BNSS
- The law does not guarantee shared parenting or equal custody
- Multiple maintenance cases may continue unless earlier cases and orders are properly disclosed and adjusted
- Personal information collected through registration may be misused
- False statements and hidden facts may still drag an innocent person into long litigation
A law is not truly uniform merely because it applies under one name.A genuinely uniform law must provide equal rights, equal duties and equal legal remedies to both men and women.
CONCLUSION
The Uniform Civil Code has entered the Family Court, but the process remains incomplete.
Uttarakhand has an operational UCC. Gujarat has proposed a detailed framework whose enforcement depends upon statutory commencement. Existing personal and secular laws continue to apply elsewhere.
UCC can reduce contradictory laws, hidden marriages, disputed divorces and overlapping claims.A husband cannot remain the default payer. A father cannot remain the default visitor. A man cannot remain the only adult whose financial vulnerability is ignored.
Uniform terminology is not enough. Uniform law must deliver uniform justice.
FAQs
- Is UCC Applicable throughout India?
No. India does not presently have one operational national UCC applicable in every State. - Is Uttarakhand UCC in Force?
Yes. The Uttarakhand UCC came into force on 27 January 2025. - Is the Gujarat UCC Already enforceable?
The official Bill provides that it will commence from a date notified by the State Government. The Gazette notification must be verified before treating it as enforceable. - Can a Husband Claim Maintenance
A husband may claim maintenance under gender-neutral provisions such as Sections 24 and 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, subject to financial eligibility. - Is Live in Registration Mandatory across India
No. There is no nationwide registration requirement. Uttarakhand has an operational registration framework, while other State proposals must be checked individually.
