By Harsh Singh Dahiya, Advocate, Supreme Court of India | Partner, Sterling & Partners

On 24 March 2026, the Gujarat Legislative Assembly passed the Gujarat Uniform Civil Code, 2026 — after a debate lasting more than seven hours. With its enactment, Gujarat became the second state in India, after Uttarakhand, to legislate a comprehensive Uniform Civil Code under state law. The statute governs marriage, divorce, inheritance, succession, live-in relationships, and adoption — replacing the patchwork of religion-specific personal laws that have governed these domains since Independence.

This is not merely a legislative event; it is a constitutional moment. The Gujarat UCC revives one of the oldest and most contested debates in Indian public law, touching simultaneously on the rights of religious minorities, the constitutional aspiration of gender equality, the structure of federalism, and the boundaries between the State and personal faith. This post examines what the Gujarat UCC actually provides, who it affects, and how the constitutional questions it raises are likely to be resolved — including what a Supreme Court challenge to the legislation might look like.

The Constitutional Background: Articles 44 and 25

Understanding the Gujarat UCC requires understanding the constitutional framework within which it operates — and the tensions that framework contains.

Article 44 of the Constitution of India is a Directive Principle of State Policy. It reads: “The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.” Directive Principles, unlike Fundamental Rights, are not judicially enforceable by citizens. They are, however, a constitutional aspiration — a direction to the legislature and executive about the values the Constitution seeks to realise over time. The Supreme Court has invoked Article 44 in numerous judgments, most notably in Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India (1995), Shah Bano (1985), and Jordan Diengdeh v. S.S. Chopra (1985), to direct Parliament to consider enacting a uniform civil code. None of these directions has resulted in central legislation.

Article 25, on the other hand, is a Fundamental Right. It guarantees to every person the freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion. This right is subject to public order, health, and morality, and to laws regulating or restricting secular activities associated with religious practice. The relationship between Article 25 and Article 44 is the central constitutional tension in any UCC debate: to what extent does the State’s power to standardise civil law on matters like marriage and succession override individuals’ rights to conduct those matters in accordance with their religious tradition?

The Supreme Court’s answer, in its most consistent formulation, has been that marriage, inheritance, and succession are secular activities — not essential religious practices — and therefore subject to legislative reform under Article 44 read with Article 25(2)(b). But this position has never been tested against a comprehensive state-level UCC until now.

Uttarakhand First, Gujarat Second

Uttarakhand enacted the Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand Act, 2024, which came into force on 27 January 2025. The Uttarakhand UCC was drafted by a five-member expert committee and applies to all residents of the state, with a specific exemption for members of Scheduled Tribes. Its key provisions cover mandatory marriage registration, prohibition of polygamy, uniform divorce grounds, equal inheritance rights for sons and daughters, and registration of live-in relationships.

The Gujarat UCC follows a similar architecture. Gujarat constituted its own expert committee in February 2025, chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Desai. The committee received approximately twenty lakh public suggestions before submitting its final report — a degree of public consultation that is notable for state legislation of this type.

What the Gujarat UCC Actually Provides

Marriage, Divorce, and Live-In Relationships

The Gujarat UCC introduces a mandatory registration requirement for all marriages, with a sixty-day window from the date of solemnisation. Non-registration attracts a civil penalty of up to Rs 10,000. The statute makes polygamy categorically illegal for all communities — a provision that directly affects communities where multiple marriages were previously valid under personal law. A second marriage contracted while the first spouse is alive is declared invalid.

Divorce under the Gujarat UCC must be sanctioned by a court. Extrajudicial forms of divorce — including practices such as triple talaq and nikah halala, already constitutionally invalidated by the Supreme Court in Shayara Bano v. Union of India (2017) — are effectively prohibited under the new framework. The Code prohibits the filing of a divorce petition within one year of marriage.

One of the most contested provisions is the mandatory registration of live-in relationships. Couples in a live-in arrangement must formally register the relationship with designated state authorities and must also formally declare its termination. Failure to register attracts a penalty of up to Rs 10,000 or three months’ imprisonment. Where either partner is below the age of 21, the parents or guardians of the younger partner must be notified. Proponents argue that this provides legal protection to vulnerable partners, particularly women, in the absence of formal marriage. Critics contend that mandatory state registration of private intimate arrangements is an intrusion into personal autonomy that the Constitution does not permit.

On inheritance and succession, the Gujarat UCC grants sons and daughters equal rights over both ancestral and self-acquired property. This standardises succession law across all communities in the state — removing historical disparities under religion-specific personal laws, particularly those applicable to certain communities where daughters’ inheritance rights were severely limited or conditional.

The Code brings adoption under a unified framework, removing religion-based restrictions that previously prevented members of certain communities from legally adopting under Indian civil law.

The UCC expressly does not apply to members of Scheduled Tribes. This exemption mirrors the Uttarakhand carve-out and reflects the constitutional protection afforded to tribal customary rights under the Fifth and Sixth Schedules and Article 342 of the Constitution.

Constitutional Questions and the Likely Supreme Court Challenge

The Gujarat UCC will almost certainly face a constitutional challenge before the Supreme Court. Several legal questions are significant enough to require judicial resolution.

The first is legislative competence. Article 44 directs the State — a term generally read to include both Parliament and state legislatures — to endeavour to secure a UCC. However, personal laws governing marriage, divorce, and succession historically fall under Entry 5 of the Concurrent List (marriage and divorce, infants and minors, etc.) and Entry 9 of the Concurrent List (intestacy and succession). State governments have legislative competence in these areas under Schedule VII of the Constitution. The Uttarakhand and Gujarat UCCs have been enacted under state legislative power. Critics, including the Communist Party of India (Marxist), have argued that “the State” in Article 44 refers only to the Union Government, and that state-level UCCs may be constitutionally impermissible. This question has not been authoritatively settled.

The second question concerns the rights of religious minorities. Minority communities — particularly Muslim, Christian, and Parsi — have challenged personal law reforms on the ground that the freedom guaranteed by Articles 25 and 26 extends to practising religious customs in matters of personal law. The Supreme Court’s consistent position is that marriage and succession are secular in character and can therefore be regulated by the State without infringing religious freedom. But applying this principle to a comprehensive code that displaces all existing personal laws simultaneously is a more sweeping step than any individual reform previously adjudicated.

The third question is gender equality. The Gujarat UCC introduces genuinely progressive reforms — equal inheritance for daughters, equal maintenance rights, prohibition of polygamy and unilateral extrajudicial divorce. These reforms align with the constitutional guarantees in Articles 14 and 15. Courts examining a challenge to the UCC will need to weigh these gender-justice objectives against the religious liberty claims of petitioners.

The fourth question is the live-in relationship registration requirement. The Supreme Court has recognised, through cases including Naz Foundation v. Government of NCT of Delhi and subsequently Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India (2018), a constitutional right to personal autonomy and intimate association as part of Articles 19 and 21. A mandatory registration requirement for cohabiting couples — backed by criminal penalties — raises serious questions about the proportionality of state intervention in the most private sphere of an individual’s life.

Key Takeaways

  • The Gujarat Uniform Civil Code, 2026, passed on 24 March 2026, makes Gujarat the second state after Uttarakhand to enact a comprehensive UCC under state legislation.
  • The Code applies to all Gujarat residents regardless of religion, with an explicit exemption for members of Scheduled Tribes.
  • Key changes include mandatory marriage registration, a complete prohibition on polygamy, equal inheritance rights for daughters and sons, court-only divorce, and mandatory registration of live-in relationships.
  • The constitutional basis for state-level UCCs is derived from Article 44 (Directive Principles), read with the state legislature’s power over personal law under the Concurrent List.
  • A Supreme Court challenge is widely anticipated. Key issues will include legislative competence, the rights of religious minorities under Article 25, the proportionality of the live-in registration requirement, and the constitutionality of imposing criminal penalties for non-registration.
  • Citizens of Gujarat — regardless of religion — should seek legal advice to understand how the new Code affects their marriage, property rights, succession planning, and family arrangements.

About Sterling & Partners
Sterling & Partners is a Supreme Court of India law firm with chambers at the Supreme Court complex, New Delhi, and an office at Greater Kailash-2. The firm advises clients on constitutional litigation, writ petitions, personal law matters, and civil proceedings across the Supreme Court and High Courts of India. For legal advice on how the Gujarat UCC or other developing areas of personal law affect you, visit sterlingpartners.law.