Jaipur: Rajasthan’s proposed Uniform Civil Code Bill, 2026, will make registration of all marriages mandatory within 60 days of solemnisation, while allowing people of all religions and communities to marry according to their customs, including Saptapadi, Nikah, Anand Karaj and Holy Union.The draft Rajasthan Uniform Civil Code (Saman Nagrik Sanhita) Bill, 2026, approved by the state Cabinet Thursday, will be introduced in the upcoming Assembly session. Govt said the Bill has been framed in keeping with the spirit of Article 44 of the Constitution and seeks to create a uniform legal framework for marriage, divorce, inheritance, maintenance and live-in relationships.The proposed law will not apply to Scheduled Tribes. According to its provisions, marriage registration has been made mandatory and polygamy prohibited.Under the draft Bill, failure to register a marriage can attract a fine of up to Rs 10,000. If the requirement is ignored despite notice, the fine can go up to Rs 25,000. A registrar who deliberately delays or neglects registration process may also face a fine of up to Rs 25,000.Non-registration or delayed registration, however, will not make a marriage invalid.The Bill requires the registrar to issue a registration certificate or reject an application with written reasons within 15 days of receiving the memorandum for registration of marriage or divorce. If an application is rejected, an appeal can be filed before the Registrar General within 30 days. The appeal must be decided within 60 days.Govt departments, semi-govt companies, public undertakings and local bodies will be allowed to change an employee’s marital status in service records only after an authorised marriage certificate is submitted.The draft also brings live-in relationships under a formal legal framework. Partners will have to submit written intimation or register the start and termination of a live-in relationship, with the stated aim of protecting the rights of both parties.Bill provides for courts to declare a marriage null or void on grounds including violation of the Code, consent obtained through force or fraud, impotence and other prescribed reasons.It also lays down a uniform framework for succession when a person dies without leaving a will. Property will pass to legal heirs in three categories.The first category includes the surviving spouse, surviving children, spouses and children of deceased children, and parents. The second includes step-parents, brothers and sisters, spouses and children of deceased siblings, siblings of parents, and paternal and maternal grandparents. The third covers other relatives not included in the first two categories.If no legal heir is found in any of the three categories, the property will devolve to the govt, which will also assume the liabilities and obligations attached to it.A child in the womb at the time of a person’s death will have full inheritance rights if subsequently born alive.The draft was prepared on recommendations of an expert committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. The committee held divisional-level public hearings and consulted citizens, public representatives, religious leaders and legal experts.
