West Bengal govt. to introduce Uniform Civil Code Bill soon

The West Bengal government will introduce a Bill in the Assembly in August to implement the Uniform Civil Code in the State, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Monday (June 29, 2026).

Mr. Adhikari informed the Assembly that the State Cabinet will give its in-principle approval to the UCC on July 2. He said the State government had set up a committee led by retired judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, to conduct a comprehensive study of family laws in the State. The committee will submit a report to the State government in four weeks. The committee will have one retired IAS officer, one legal expert, one educationist, one social worker, and one additional secretary of the State government. Apart from family laws relating to marriage and succession, the committee will also look into live-in relationship. 

“The BJP, in its manifesto, had promised the Uniform Civil Code in the State within six months of coming to power. We believe in the ideology of Syama Prasad Mookerjee that in one country there cannot be two set of laws for the people,” Mr. Adhikari said.

Tribal groups exempt

The Chief Minister added that Adivasis, indigenous people, kurmis and other recognised ancient tribal communities of the State will be excluded from the proposed law.  With tribal communities out of its ambit, the law may impact Muslims and Christians, who have a different set of family laws. West Bengal, the fourth most populated State in the country, has a Muslim population of about 27%, as per the last census.

He said the State government will draw inspiration from Gujarat, Assam and Uttarakhand, where the UCC had been implemented.

While the Chief Minister was making the statement in the House, Trinamool Congress MLAs led by Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee raised slogans.  “If anyone has any objection or opinion, it can be directly submitted to the committee led by Ranjana Desai,” the Chief Minister said.