Assam is repealing the Islamic marriage and divorce law, taking a major step towards introducing a uniform civil code

The Assam Cabinet has decided to repeal an 89-year-old law relating to registration of marriages and divorces by Muslims living in the state.

Guwahati: The Assam government has announced the repeal of an 89-year-old legislation, the Assam Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act, 1935. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The move comes after Uttarakhand passed the Uniform Civil Code legislation, making it the first state to do so. The repeal of the 1935 Act marks an important step towards the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Assam.

Transition to the Special Marriage Act In future, all matters relating to Muslim marriages and divorces in Assam will be governed by the Special Marriage Act. The district commissioner and district registrar will now oversee the registration of Muslim marriages and divorces under the new legal framework.

Cabinet Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah called it an important step towards a Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

“The district commissioner and district registrar will now be responsible for registration of Muslim marriages and divorces under the new structure. The 94 Muslim registrars who were employed under the repealed law will also be removed from their posts and given a lump sum of Rs 2 lakh,” he told reporters.

Mallabarua also highlighted the wider implications of the decision, especially in light of the state’s efforts to ban child marriage. He pointed out that youth marriages had been made easier by the outdated 1935 law, a relic of the British Empire.

“The government intends to address the issue of child marriage, defined as the union of individuals under the age of 18 for women and 21 for men, by repealing this law,” the minister added.

On February 12, CM Sarma stated that his government plans to introduce robust legislation banning polygamy and implementing a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state.

“We were following (legislation to ban polygamy), but Uttarakhand has passed the UCC (bill). We are now working to align both (issues) so that we can prepare robust legislation. We are working on that,” Sarma had said.

He had said an expert committee would look at how to align polygamy and UCC in the same legislation.