More than a year after the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) was implemented in Uttarakhand in January 2025, the State police have been unable to register cases under relevant sections of the law as the centralised online platform to file FIRs, chargesheets, and investigation reports is awaiting a software update.
All police stations in the country are linked through the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), which was launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs with the aim of digitising police station records, tracking crimes and criminals in real-time, and centralising data across the country for faster investigation, improved decision-making, and enhanced public services such as e-filing of complaints.
The issue came to light when Shaheen, a resident of Haridwar, approached the Buggawala police station to file a complaint against her husband and in-laws. She alleged that she was subjected to physical violence and mental harassment soon after marriage over dowry demands.
She claimed that her husband gave her triple talaq and that when she asked him to reconsider the decision, he told her to first undergo halala. The practice involves a divorced Muslim woman marrying another man, consummating the marriage, and then divorcing him to remarry her first husband.
