Mumbai: In a significant setback to the Maharashtra government’s push for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), former Bombay High Court judge Justice RC Chavan has resigned from the state-appointed committee tasked with drafting the legal framework. Justice Chavan submitted his resignation on September 19, which was subsequently accepted by the state government on Monday.
The seven-member committee, formed in July 2026, is headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Desai, who previously led the panel that drafted Uttarakhand’s UCC. With Justice Chavan’s departure, the committee’s strength has now been reduced to six members.
Sources indicate that the resignation stemmed from serious procedural disagreements, particularly concerning the mechanism designed to gather public feedback. According to his resignation correspondence, Justice Chavan strongly opposed a proposal to limit the public consultation questionnaire to simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ responses. He argued that complex social issues such as marriage, divorce, and inheritance require nuanced discussions, and restricting feedback to binary options would undermine the objective of building a broad consensus among the state’s citizens.
Furthermore, Justice Chavan raised serious concerns regarding the presence of an “outsider” during the committee’s second official online meeting. He alleged that an officer from outside the state, who was not a designated member of the panel, actively participated and suggested modifications to the committee’s official web portal. Questioning the individual’s role, Justice Chavan remarked in his letter that such involvement cast doubts on the capabilities of the state’s own officials and compromised the independent functioning of the committee. He stated that he was vacating his position so the government could appoint a replacement more aligned with their approach.
The Maharashtra government had mandated the committee to submit its comprehensive report within six months. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had earlier expressed the administration’s intention to table the UCC legislation during the upcoming winter session of the state assembly in Nagpur.
The remaining members of the high-level panel include former High Court judge SG Mehare, former Chief Secretary DK Jain, former Advocate General Birendra Saraf, constitutional expert Ramesh Patange, and educationist Suvarna Rawal.
As the state gears up for upcoming assembly elections, the sudden exit of a prominent judicial voice has sparked fresh political debates over the transparency and execution of the proposed Uniform Civil Code in Maharashtra.