The provisions on live-in relationships in Uttarakhand’s draft Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which was tabled in the Assembly Tuesday, use the word “partners” — indicating they may apply to same-sex couples as well.
The provisions say it shall be obligatory for “partners” in a live-in relationship to submit a statement of it to district officials, failing which they may be penalised by a cash fine and a prison term.
As against this, the provision on marriage, Section 4 says that a “marriage may be solemnized/contracted between a man and a woman, if the following conditions are fulfilled”.
The only provision in the part which mentions “women” is the one talking about maintenance. It says that if a woman gets deserted by her live-in partner, she shall be entitled to claim maintenance from that person.
Senior Advocate Saurabh Kirpal told ThePrint that the provisions broadly appeared to be gender neutral. “When the legislature uses the term separately at different places, then it is presumed they have an objective in mind. In this, it has deliberately used man and woman in one Section (Section 4 related to marriage), and persons in another (in relation to live-in relationship). This shows its intention to make the latter provision more inclusive.”
ThePrint reached Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Radha Raturi via phone and text but had not received any response by the time of publication. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
What exactly does the state propose?
The provisions say it shall be obligatory for “partners” in a live-in relationship in a state, whether they are residents of Uttarakhand or not, to submit a statement of live-in relationship to the registrar.
Residents of Uttarakhand in a live-in relationship outside “may” submit a statement with the registrar, it says.
It also says a child of a live-in relationship shall be considered the “legitimate child of the couple”.
The draft also lays down conditions required for the registration of such a relationship. It says a live-in relationship will not be registered if: partners are within degrees of a prohibited relationship, where at least one of the persons is married, where at least one of the persons is a minor, and where the consent of one of the partners was obtained by force, coercion, undue influence, misrepresentation or fraud.
So “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.
The registrar will conduct a summary inquiry and summon people for verification. Within 30 days, the registrar will either list the live-in relationship and issue a certificate, or refuse to register the relationship, giving reasons in writing.
While the draft does not define partners, it defines “persons” as an “individual, whether female or male”. The only provision in this part of the draft which mentions “women”, is the one talking about maintenance. It says if a woman is deserted by her live-in partner, she shall be entitled to claim maintenance from her partner.
Both partners in a live-in relationship or either of them can terminate it and submit a statement of termination with the registrar. It also says after the statement of live-in relationship is submitted, the registrar has to inform the parents or guardians if either of the partners is less than 21 years old.
This creates an anomaly, where the legal age of majority is 18 years. But if people between 18 years and 21 years enter into a live-in relationship, the registrar has to inform the parents or guardians.
If anybody stays in a live-in relationship for more than one month from the date of entering into such a relationship without submitting a statement, he or she shall be punished with three months imprisonment or Rs 10,000 in fine or both.
If partners in a live-in relationship fail to submit the statement of relationship to the registrar, he shall issue a notice to them to submit a statement within 30 days. If they still don’t submit the statement, they can be sentenced to a six-month jail term or fined Rs 25,000.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also read: Marriage as institution precedes state — SC’s majority view on same-sex marriage
This article is rendered moot if you look to page 5, 4(b) of the act. The term live in relationship is defined as a “relationship between a man and a women (hereinafter referred to as a partners)”