Live-In Relationships Must be Registered Or 6-Month Jail: Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code

Dehradun: Once the Uniform Civil Code becomes law in Uttarakhand, all persons in, or planning to enter, live-in relationships in the state will have to register themselves with district officials. Parental consent will be required for registration of live-in relations of those below the age of 21.

Mandatory registration of such relationships extends to individuals who “any resident of Uttarakhand… in a live-in relationship outside the State”.

Live-in relationships will not be registered in cases that are “against public policy and morality”, if one partner is married or in another relationship, if one partner is a minor, and if consent of one partner was obtained by “coercion, fraud, or misrepresentation (with regard to identity)”.

The Uttarakhand government is planning a website to accept details of live-in relationships, which will be verified with the District Registrar, who will conduct a “summary inquiry” to establish the validity of the relationship, reported NDTV quoting an official.

Should registration be refused, the Registrar must inform in writing his/her reasons.

Under the new Uniform Civil Code Act of the state, 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.