More than a year after Uttarakhand implemented the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in January 2025, state police remain unable to register cases under its provisions due to a pending software update on the centralised Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS). The issue surfaced in a Haridwar case involving resident Shaheen, where triple talaq and halala allegations led to an FIR under other laws but not UCC sections 30 and 32. A senior officer cited the absence of UCC provisions on CCTNS.
Uttarakhand implemented the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in January 2025, but over a year later, state police cannot register FIRs, chargesheets, or investigation reports under its sections due to a delayed software update on the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS). Launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs, CCTNS links police stations nationwide to digitise records and track crimes in real time.
The problem emerged when Shaheen, a Haridwar resident, filed a complaint at Buggawala police station against her husband and in-laws. She alleged physical violence and mental harassment over dowry demands shortly after marriage. Shaheen claimed her husband pronounced triple talaq and suggested she undergo halala, a practice requiring a divorced Muslim woman to marry and divorce another man before remarrying her first husband.
Police registered an FIR on April 4 under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, but omitted UCC sections 30 and 32 penalising triple talaq and halala. A senior police officer stated, “Provisions of the law have not yet been uploaded on the CCTNS. A request for addition must come from the State Home Department to the Union Home Department.”
Uttarakhand Director General of Police Deepam Seth could not be reached for comment. State Congress vice president and AICC member Suryakant Dhasmana criticised the Pushkar Singh Dhami government, saying, “This delay shows that the BJP is not serious about the UCC or delivering justice. This law is nothing but an overhyped marriage registration platform, aimed at winning elections by dividing people.” Dhasmana took a dig at Dhami for celebrating the UCC's first anniversary unaware of ground realities.
