Uttarakhand Governor Gurmeet Singh returned the UCC and Prevention of Religious Conversion Bill, know what is the whole matter?

Dehradun. Governor Gurmit Singh has returned two important bills sent by the Pushkar Singh Dhami Government of Uttarakhand to the government. After being returned from Raj Bhavan, questions have been raised on the legislative process of the state.

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On this whole issue, sources in the Chief Minister’s Office say that a strict conversion law is already in force in Uttarakhand, but some clerical (typing/technical) errors were found in the draft of the bill related to it. To remove these flaws, Raj Bhavan has sent the bill back to the administrative department, i.e. the Endowments and Culture Department. Now the department will correct these errors and send it again to Raj Bhavan for approval, after which it will be implemented through an ordinance.

Has this happened before?

UCC is already in force in Uttarakhand, which also includes the provision for marriage registration. A clerical error was also found in the amendment bill that was sent to the Raj Bhavan to extend the one-year additional time limit for marriage registration. For this reason Raj Bhavan has returned it also. According to CMO sources, the Home Department will now remove these shortcomings and send the amended bill again for approval.

It is noteworthy that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttarakhand was passed in January 2024, after which the government amended it in the monsoon session of August 2025. Under the amendment, a provision of punishment of up to seven years has been made for living in a live-in relationship while already married. Similarly, similar penalties have been prescribed for entering into a relationship by force, duress or fraud. Under the new section 390-A added to the UCC, the Registrar General has been given the power to cancel registrations related to marriage, divorce, live-in relationship and inheritance.

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At the same time, changes have been proposed again in 2025 in the conversion law of Uttarakhand, which was implemented in 2018 and amended in 2022. In the new amendment, there is a provision to increase the punishment in cases of forced conversion from three years to life imprisonment, whereas earlier the maximum punishment was 10 years.