West Bengal Forms 9 Member Panel To Review Draft UCC Bill

West Bengal has set up a nine-member specialist body to analyze and complete the state's 2026 draft Uniform Civil Code. Retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai will lead the team, Times of India reported.

The state government plans to introduce the proposed legislation during the assembly's August session. Indigenous communities are proposed to remain outside the ambit of the draft bill.

Official Mandate and Panel

A state government notification issued on Friday informed that the panel will conduct a detailed evaluation of the draft law before its presentation to the legislature.

"It has been further made to appear to the Governor that considering the wide ramification and voluminous nature of the subject domain, it is necessary to constitute a committee for a comprehensive examination and review of the DRAFT BILL titled The Uniform Civil Code, West Bengal, 2026." the official notification stated.

The directive further informed that the Governor "is pleased hereby to constitute, with immediate effect, a committee comprising the following persons of eminence to examine the bill".

Eight other prominent figures join Desai on the newly formed panel. The team includes former Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy, Resident Commissioner Dushyant Naraiala (IAS), retired IAS officer Shatrughna Singh and Principal Secretary (Home and Hill Affairs) Sanghamitra Ghosh. Retired anthropology professor Dr Ratna Bhattacharya, former Gour Banga University vice-chancellor Gopalchandra Misra, Calcutta high court advocate Osman Gani Mallick and former executive director Nirmalya Bhattacharyya will also serve on the board.

Scope of the Bill

The state has prepared a draft bill to establish a single legal system for personal civil affairs across all communities. This common code will replace faith-based rules to oversee marriage, divorce, inheritance, succession and adoption.

The proposed law retains constitutional exemptions available to certain categories, including indigenous communities. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari formally announced the move in the state assembly earlier this week.

The decision fulfils a key promise made by the BJP in its Sankalp Patra. The party pledged to introduce the bill within six months of coming to power in the state.

Desai previously chaired UCC committees in Uttarakhand and Gujarat, and she currently heads similar panels in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

The Bengal panel will analyze current UCC frameworks, state officials stated. The team will focus on the Assam model because both states share comparable population and migration patterns.