Mumbai: The state of Maharashtra has formally announced plans to formulate a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) framework, making it the ninth state under the governance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to pursue a common civil legal framework. Making the historic announcement on the floor of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis revealed the constitution of a high-level, seven-member expert panel tasked with evaluating the legal and constitutional landscape to draft the proposed common personal laws.
The newly appointed drafting committee will be headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. Justice Desai is widely considered the country’s prominent legal expert on the matter, having previously led the successful drafting of Uttarakhand’s landmark UCC legislation. Chief Minister Fadnavis detailed that the structural composition of the panel incorporates three former judges from the apex court and high courts, one constitutional expert, a retired high-ranking bureaucrat, and two seasoned experts representing the social and educational sectors.
The complete roster of the committee features distinguished personalities including former Bombay High Court Judge Justice R.C. Chavan, former High Court Judge Justice S.G. Mehere, and former Chief Secretary of Maharashtra D.K. Jain. They are joined by former Advocate General and legal expert Birendra Saraf, social activist and Padma Shri awardee Ramesh Patange, alongside prominent educationist Dr. Suvarna Rawal. The panel has been officially mandated to conduct a comprehensive study covering administrative and social realities across various communities and submit its final recommendations within a strict six-month window. The state government intends to use these final findings to formulate a definitive bill and table it before both houses during the upcoming winter session of the state legislature in Nagpur.
The development highlights a distinct strategic pivot by the ruling BJP, which has actively taken the individual state route to systematically realize its long-standing legislative promise of implementing a pan-India Uniform Civil Code rather than initiating a singular central law. Following the blueprint, Uttarakhand recently became the first state in independent India to officially enforce a common civil law code, which specifically excluded tribal populations from its regulatory purview. Goa remains the only other state with a legacy common civil law that has been operational for decades. With Maharashtra entering the fold, it joins an expanding bloc of BJP-led states including Gujarat, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh that have launched active procedures to standardise laws regarding marriage, divorce, alimony, and inheritance across all religious communities.
