Ranjana Prakash Desai to head 9-member West Bengal UCC panel
West Bengal just formed a nine-member committee, led by retired Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, to take a close look at the state's proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for 2026.
The UCC is all about creating one set of rules for things like marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption, replacing religion-based laws, while keeping protections for indigenous communities.
West Bengal panel studies Assam models
The group includes former Meghalaya governor Tathagata Roy, current and retired Indian Administrative Service officers (IAS), legal experts, and academics.
They'll be reviewing models from other states like Assam before the bill is introduced in the assembly session this August.
The government says expert input is key because the UCC is complicated.
This move also follows Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's earlier promise to roll out the UCC within six months of taking office as part of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) campaign pledges.