The story so far: On July 21, 2026, the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed a Bill to bring a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the State through a voice vote amid uproar by the Opposition Congress. The Madhya Pradesh Uniform Civil Code 2026 Bill was introduced a day earlier on the first day of the Assembly’s Monsoon session after it was approved by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s Cabinet.

On the lines of other Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled States Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Assam that have already implemented a UCC, the Madhya Pradesh Bill also carries provisions to regulate areas of personal law: marriage, divorce, succession and inheritance, and live-in relationships. As per the government, the Bill was prepared following a thorough study and guidance of the Uniform Civil Codes of the three States.

It primarily proposes to criminalise practices such as polygamy and nikaha halala, while also making registration of live-in relationships mandatory.

Similarly, it also exempts the large tribal population of the State, covered under Articles 342 and 366 (Clause 25) of the Constitution, whose customary laws are protected under the Constitution.

For months, Mr. Yadav had been personally overseeing the work to prepare a Bill, a task which was entrusted to a six-member committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai in April.

What are the key on marriage and divorce?

Marriage: The Bill makes it mandatory to register marriages and divorces and annulments across all communities within 60 days of the event, through government portals the M.P. e-Municipality Portal in urban areas and through the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), municipal body, or panchayat in rural areas. This is aimed at ensuring marital rights, alimony and various legal protections to women. While failing to register a marriage will not invalidate it, the registrar could impose a fine in case of absence of a valid reason.

A marriage registration under the Madhya Pradesh Compulsory Registration of Marriages Rules, 2008, is also valid. The Bill completely prohibits practice of polygamy and mandates monogamy in all communities. A person may be married to only one living spouse at a time.

It also bans the Muslim practice of nikaha halala, which requires a divorced woman to marry another man and obtain a divorce before remarrying her former husband, and makes it a punishable criminal offence.

Divorce: The Bill also says that a marriage can only be dissolved through legal process and on clear and legal grounds, while making oral practices such as triple talaq or informal panchayat decisions illegal.

The Bill also provides special rights to women to seek a divorce on grounds such as the husband being a rape convict after the marriage or discovery of any existing spouse. A spouse can also seek divorce if the partner has converted his/her religion.

Under the Bill, a woman can also seek the marriage to be declared void if her husband has gotten another woman pregnant. The legal age of marriage for men and women remains unchanged at 21 and 18, respectively.

The Bill completely eliminates the word ‘illegitimate’ for children, saying that children born to married or unmarried parents, whether biological, adopted, through surrogacy or assisted reproductive technology (ART), will have equal legal status.

What does it say on live-in relationships?

The Bill makes it mandatory for couples cohabiting in Madhya Pradesh, whether they are State residents or not, to submit a ‘declaration of their live-in relationship’ with the local registrar within one month of starting to live together.

A Madhya Pradesh resident who is in a live-in relationship outside the State can also give the declaration to the registrar of their native place.

Under the Bill, if either partner is under 21 years of age, information about the start and end of the live-in relationship will be sent to their parents or guardians. The registrar will also send this record to the local police station.

The Bill also says that children born out of a live-in relationship will be considered legitimate and will receive full inheritance. If the male partner abandons the woman, the UCC provides her a right to claim maintenance through a competent court, just as a legal wife.

The Bill also makes strict provisions for failing to register the relationship within a month and says that it can result in up to three months’ imprisonment or a fine of ₹10,000. Providing false information can result in up to three months’ imprisonment and a fine of ₹25,000. Failing to provide a statement after receiving a notice from the Registrar can result in up to six months’ imprisonment and a fine of ₹25,000 .

What are the key provisions on succession and inheritance?

The Bill paves the way for a gender neutral inheritance laws as it provides equal rights to sons and daughters, irrespective of their marital status. Widows and widowers will also be treated equally in the deceased’s estate.

It also provides an equal share to both parents in the property along with the deceased’s spouse and children.

However, the Bill grants complete freedom to an adult person of sound mind to bequeath all of their property (both self-acquired and inherited) to anyone through a will, eliminating any compulsory inheritance limitations like in the Islamic law where a person can only make a will to a maximum of one-third of their estate and that the remaining two-third must be divided among the mandatory legal heirs.

Who is exempted from the Bill?

Madhya Pradesh’s nearly 21% Scheduled Tribe population remains exempted from the Bill, leaving them free to practice their customary rights and traditional practices.

Apart from them, communities whose traditional rights are protected under Part XXI of the Constitution are also specifically exempted from the purview of the law.

What is the political significance of the Bill?

The move to exempt the tribals holds significance due to the electoral importance of the communities, that are spread across various regions of the State, to the ruling BJP.

The State has 47 out of its 230 Assembly seats reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (STs), along with six out of 29 Lok Sabha seats. Barring the 2018 Assembly elections, the BJP has maintained an edge over the Congress in the tribal regions, with the ruling party currently occupying 28 of the 47 ST-reserved seats.

While Madhya Pradesh becomes the fourth State in independent India to bring a UCC after Uttarakhand in 2024 and Gujarat and Assam earlier this year, various other BJP-ruled States are also currently working to bring a law, with the party finally moving ahead with one of its core agendas that is often considered aimed at abolishing various practices of the Muslim community.

Goa has has a Uniform Civil Code since the Portuguese Civil Code was introduced during Portuguese rule.

While the M.P. Government had formed the panel in April, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had launched a rhetoric through his statements in the run up to the Bill’s introduction in the Assembly.

Mr. Yadav frequented his addresses across the State saying that “if [lord] Ram will Mary once, why should Rahim marry four times?” while also terming Muslim women his sisters. He also accused the Opposition Congress of appeasing the Muslim community by opposing the UCC.

What are the objections of the Congress?

While most top Congress leaders of the State maintained silence over the issue, its two Muslim MLAs — Arif Masood and Atif Aqueel, both from Bhopal — took on the government inside and outside the Assembly accusing it of targeting the Muslim community through the Bill.

Whereas its Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar accused the BJP government of “running away from real issues and imposing RSS agenda”. During a discussion in the House, Mr. Masood objected the Bill for bringing marital disputes into criminal offence purview from civil matters.

“The way you have excluded STs from this, Article 29 protects the minority Muslim community that they should be allowed to live with their constitutional rights. whatever religious things they have, they should be allowed to fulfil them,” he said.

Mr. Masood also raised objections over the process of seeking public opinion on the matter, for which the government had formed a portal.

“There were approximately 2,200 comments on the website, which is why the deadline was extended by a week. Then within a single week, the figure jumped to lakhs you [the government] are mentioning — how did that happen?” Mr. Masood had asked.

His demand of sending the Bill to a select committee for amendments was rejected. The Bill is currently awaiting Government Mangubhai Patel’s assent for implementation.

Published - July 27, 2026 04:15 pm IST