Maharashtra UCC panel inducts Shatrughna Singh days after Justice Chavan's exit

The Maharashtra government has appointed retired IAS officer Shatrughna Singh as a member-cum-senior adviser to the state's Uniform Civil Code committee, two days after retired Bombay High Court judge Justice R C Chavan stepped down from the panel.

Singh had attended the committee's September 19 meeting as an adviser even though he was not then a member of the seven-member body. Justice Chavan referred to his presence in a resignation email submitted after that meeting, questioning the role of someone outside the committee.

According to Justice Chavan, neither the meeting notice nor the emails sent beforehand indicated that Singh had been appointed as an adviser. Singh was invited to the meeting by the committee's chairperson, retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Desai, and was introduced to members as someone who would provide inputs.

The committee met twice in September, with Singh attending only the second sitting. That meeting took place hours before Justice Chavan sent in his resignation.

Among the issues discussed was the questionnaire the panel plans to use for public feedback on the proposed code. Justice Chavan suggested adding more subjective questions to draw detailed responses, but the committee decided on a mix of objective and subjective questions. The questionnaire, expected to open for public feedback in the coming days, will carry close to three dozen questions.

Singh also flagged changes needed to the website being prepared for public consultation, including revisions to the introductory text explaining the UCC and the way the questionnaire would be integrated for public access. Justice Chavan's account states that the chairperson then directed officials to make the changes within a week.

Singh has earlier worked with Justice Desai on Uttarakhand's UCC. He was one of five members of the Uttarakhand committee headed by her and served on the sub-committee that drafted the law as well as the group that held stakeholder consultations. After the Uttarakhand UCC Bill was passed in February 2024 and received Presidential assent the following month, Singh headed the committee that framed rules for its implementation. The law came into force on January 27, 2025.

The Maharashtra committee, constituted in July to draft a UCC and recommend how it should be implemented, has six months to submit its report. Its other members are retired Bombay High Court judge Justice S G Mehare, former Maharashtra Chief Secretary D K Jain, former Advocate General Birendra Saraf, social activist and Padma Shri awardee Ramesh Patange, and education expert Suvarna Rawal.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said the government aims to introduce a UCC Bill in the Assembly during the Winter Session in December.