Uttarakhand has become the first state to pass the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill.
UCC refers to a common set of laws that are applicable to all Indian citizens, and is not based on religion in dealing with marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption, among other personal matters.
The bill excludes population control measures and the Scheduled Tribes, constituting 3 per cent of Uttarakhand's population.
The distinction between the Ancestral Property and Self-Acquired Property was abolished.
In cases of intestate succession, the property will pass on to Class-1 heirs, who include the children, the widow and parents among a long list of others.
In the absence of Class-1 heirs, the property will pass on to Class-2 heirs, who include siblings, nieces, nephews and grandparents, among others.
The Bill has provisions for equal rights for women in inheritance in ancestral properties, equal rights to adopt, divorce.
The practices of bigamy or polygamy are outlawed.
It provides the mandatory registration/self-declaration for live-in relationships, mandatory registration of marriage of marriages and divorce.
UCC brings the minimum age of marriage to 18 and 21 for Muslim women and men.