3 min readAhmedabadUpdated: Mar 31, 2026 09:37 AM IST
The Gujarat Muslim Hit Rakshak Samiti – an umbrella body of different organisations of the community in the state – said it will organise protests across the state against the “anti-Muslim” Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill passed by the Gujarat Assembly last week and challenge the validity of the legislation in court.
The organisation said it will submit a memorandum to Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat requesting him to reject the Bill and file petitions in the Supreme Court and the Gujarat High Court challenging it.
The samiti said Muslims across the State will express their opposition to the UCC Bill by wearing black bands on their right arms during the Jumma (Friday) prayers on April 3.
“Ulama-e-Kiram will lead prayers (Yaum-e-Dua) against the UCC Bill, and a specific sermon (Khutbah) prepared by Mufti Ahmed Devla and other prominent Muftis will be delivered,” Sagirahmed Ansari from Gujarat Muslim Hit Rakshak Samiti told The Indian Express.
Delegations of religious, social, and political leaders, lawyers, and organisation heads will submit memorandums to district collectors across Gujarat on April 6. Silent sit-in protests will be held outside collector offices across the state on the occasion and video messages on the protest will be circulated online. Seminars and workshops will be organised to educate the community on how the UCC might affect Sharia laws, Ahmed said.
The samiti said it will also seek cooperation from other religious and social organisations, presenting the issue as a matter of civil and constitutional rights rather than just a religious one.
“The UCC should apply to all citizens of the country across its territory. The so-called UCC Bill passed by the Gujarat Assembly, which is pending the assent of Governor, is not the UCC as provided in the Constitution,” Maulana Khadim Lalpuri, convenor of Gujarat Muslim Hit Rakshak Samiti alleged.
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The Article 44 of the Constitution says that UCC must be for all citizens of the country and it must be implemented throughout the territory of India, he pointed out. Article-44 does not impose an obligation on the State (country) to impose UCC and it states that ‘the State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India’, he said.
“First adopted in Uttarakhand and now replicated in Gujarat, the Bill was deliberately misnamed as UCC even though it is not. In Uttarakhand, the issue is pending before the High Court,” he said.
The samiti has also demanded the state government to put the UCC panel report in public domain.
“The evident timing of enactment of bringing in such unconstitutional Bill also lays bare the malafide and mischievous intent behind it. Such a Bill is brought just a couple of months before the local body elections only to reap political and electoral benefits by catering to majoritarian groups and by subjugating the minority-Muslims,” he alleged.
