The Maharashtra UCC committee has appointed retired IAS officer Shatrughna Singh as a member after former Bombay High Court judge RC Chavan resigned from the panel earlier this week. The state government approved Singh’s appointment following a recommendation from committee chairperson and retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai, according to a senior official quoted by Navbharat Times.
Singh, a retired officer of the Uttarakhand cadre, has been added to the seven-member committee formed to prepare a framework for a Uniform Civil Code in Maharashtra. The proposed framework is intended to examine common legal provisions for people of different religions in areas including marriage, divorce and property.
The committee was announced by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on July 9 and is chaired by Justice Desai. It has been given six months to study the legal, social, cultural and administrative aspects of a possible UCC in the state and submit a detailed report. The panel is also expected to examine the experience of states such as Uttarakhand, which has implemented a Uniform Civil Code.
Chavan’s resignation brought the committee’s consultation process into focus. According to the report, the former judge objected to the committee’s decision to restrict public responses on important social issues to yes-or-no options. The report did not indicate that Chavan’s resignation was formally linked to Singh’s appointment.
A senior official said Desai had suggested Singh’s name because the two had worked together previously. The official also said the appointment was unrelated to Chavan’s resignation. The government subsequently approved the recommendation.
The committee’s other members include former High Court judge SG Mehere, former Maharashtra chief secretary DK Jain, former advocate general Virendra Saraf, constitutional expert Ramesh Patange and academic Suvarna Rawal. Together, the panel’s composition includes former judges, administrators, a legal expert and an academic, reflecting the range of legal and administrative questions involved in preparing the proposed framework.
The committee’s work will take place amid wider political support for UCC legislation in several states. Uttarakhand is the first state in India to implement a Uniform Civil Code, while the legislative assemblies of Gujarat, Assam and Madhya Pradesh have passed UCC Bills, according to the report. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on September 13 that he expected National Democratic Alliance-ruled states to implement UCCs before 2029.
For Maharashtra, the immediate next step is the committee’s six-month examination of the code’s legal, social, cultural and administrative implications, followed by submission of its report to the state government.
