Bengal appoints nine-member committee to review draft Uniform Civil Code Bill

The West Bengal government has constituted a nine-member committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai to examine the draft Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, 2026, and recommend changes before it is introduced in the state Assembly.

A government notification issued on Saturday named the remaining eight members of the panel, which has been tasked with studying the draft legislation and submitting its recommendations. Based on the committee's report, the government plans to finalise the Bill and table it during the Assembly session scheduled for August.

The committee comprises former Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy, West Bengal Resident Commissioner in New Delhi Dushyant Nariala, Home Secretary Sanghamitra Ghosh, retired anthropology professor Ratna Bhattacharya, former Gour Banga University vice-chancellor Gopal Chandra Mishra, Calcutta High Court advocate Osman Gani Mallick, and former Bengal Sambhag executive director Nirmalya Bhattacharya.

The state Cabinet approved the draft Bill on July 2, following which the government announced that it would seek the committee's recommendations before moving ahead with the legislation.

According to the government, the proposed law aims to introduce a common civil code across the state, replacing separate personal laws based on religion in matters covered by the legislation.

The government has also said that tribal communities, indigenous groups, Kurmis and other recognised ancient tribal communities will be kept outside the ambit of the proposed law. It said the exemption follows the model adopted in Uttarakhand and Gujarat.

The implementation of a Uniform Civil Code was one of the promises made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in its election manifesto for the recent West Bengal Assembly elections. Senior BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, had also highlighted the proposal during the election campaign.

The government has said it intends to introduce the final version of the Bill in the Assembly after incorporating the committee's recommendations.

With IANS inputs