Register Live-In Relationships Or Face 6 Month Jail: Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code

The registration process will also require parental consent for individuals below the age of 21 who wish to live together.

The Uniform Civil Code bill, which aims to establish uniform laws for marriage, divorce, land, property, and inheritance for all citizens regardless of their religion, was introduced in the Uttarakhand state assembly on Tuesday. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who presented the bill in the House, announced that individuals who wished to stay in a live-in relationship should get themselves registered or face consequences.  This will come into effect once the Uniform Civil Code becomes a law.

As per the UCC, the registration process will also require parental consent for individuals below the age of 21 who wish to live together. Furthermore, the mandatory registration applies not only to residents of Uttarakhand but also to individuals who are in a live-in relationship outside the state.

According to the proposed UCC in Uttarakhand, failure to submit live-in relationship declarations, or providing false information, could land one in jail for three months, a fine of Rs. 25,000, or both. Anyone who fails to register a live-in relationship will face a maximum of six months in jail, be fined Rs. 25,000, or both. Even a delay in registration, by as little as a month, will trigger a jail term of up to three months, a fine of Rs. 10,000, or both.

Live-in relationships will not be registered in cases that are ‘against public policy and morality’. This means that if one partner is married or in another relationship, the live-in relationship will not be recognized. Additionally, if one partner is a minor, the live-in relationship will not be registered. Furthermore, if the consent of one partner was obtained by coercion, fraud, or misrepresentation (with regard to identity), the live-in relationship will not be recognized.

Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code- Understanding Live-In Relationship

• It shall be obligatory for partners to a live-in relationship within the state, whether they are Uttarakhand residents or not, to Sumit a statement of live-in relationship Under sub section (1) of section 381 to the Registrar within those jurisdiction they are so living
• Any resident(s) of Uttarakhand staying in a live-in relationship outside the territory of the State may submit a statement of live-in relationship under sub-section (1) of section 381 to the Registrar within whose jurisdiction such resident(s) ordinarily resides.
• According to the UCC, any child of a live-in relationship shall be a legitimate child of the couple.

Live-In Relationship registration will be cancelled if:

1. A live-in relationship between two persons shall not be registered, where the partners are within the degrees of prohibited relationship.
2. Provided that the prohibitions will not apply to person(s) whose customs and usage permit the relationship, if it were a marriage;
3. Provided further that such customs and usage are not against the public policy and morality
4. Where at Ieast one of the persons is married or is already in a live-in relationship
5. Where at least one of the persons is a minor
6. Where the consent of one of the partners was obtained by force, coercion, undue influence, misrepresentation or fraud as to any material fact or circumstance concerning the other partner, including his-her identity.

Registration procedure for Live-in partners

• Partners in a live-in relationship, or persons intending to enter into a live-in relationship, shall submit a statement of live-in relationship to the Registrar concerned in such format and in such manner as may be prescribed.
• The Registrar shall examine the contents of the statement of live-in relationship so submitted and satisfy herself/himself by conducting a summary inquiry that the live-in relationship is not of such a kind as is mentioned under section 380.
• In conducting summary inquiry under sub-section (2), the Registrar may summon the partners/persons or any other person for verification in the prescribed manner and require the partners/persons to supply additional information or evidence, if necessary.
• After conducting such summary inquiry as may be deemed appropriate, the Registrar shall, within thirty days of the receipt of the statement of live-in relationship under sub-section (1), either-enter such statement in a prescribed register for registering the live-in relationship, and issue a registration certificate in the prescribed format to the partners/persons; or (b) refuse to register such statement, in which case the Registrar shall inform the partners/persons of the reasons in writing for such refusal.

NOTE: A woman “deserted by her live-in partner” can claim maintenance, the UCC draft also said, although it does not specify what constitutes “desertion”.