The Uttarakhand government on Thursday denied reports that the Uniform Civil Code mandates clergy permission for registration of live-in relationship or marriages.

UCC rules committee member Manu Gaur clarified, “Such requirements will be applicable in the cases where marriages are prohibited as specified in schedule one of the UCC manual. Only four documents are required at the time of live-in registration under UCC, residence proof, date of birth, Aadhaar details and rent agreement documents if applicable.”

Advertisement

He said a legal divorce decree will be needed for divorcees taking to live-in relationships. “Besides this those whose spouse has passed away or previous live-in relationship has ended will also have to provide relevant documents at the time of registration,” he added.

The state government issued a statement and said that reports of mandatory religious certificates under UCC for all live-in relationships were false and not in accordance with the new uniform personal law of the state.

According to Gaur, marriages in Uttarakhand falling in prohibited categories are very rare. He said less than one percent UCC registrations will require a religious certificate in the state. However, as stated by Gaur, members of the communities where marriages can take place within the prohibited categories, as mentioned in UCC, can still register their relationship by providing a religious certificate.

Gaur said the format of religious certificates is mentioned in the UCC manual.

It is notable that newly notified UCC manual claims that relations like cousin marriages and others as defined in schedule one come under prohibited categories. However, as per Gaur, couples belonging to the communities where such marriages are allowed will have to produce religious certificates from clergy.