Assam Government To Consider Banning Polygamy In State As It Awaits Nationwide UCC, Says CM Himanta

Assam's Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, announced on Thursday (July 13) that the state will be passing a Bill to ban polygamy until a final decision is made on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

During a speech at an event, Sarma expressed the state government's support for the UCC, despite opposition from NDA partners governing neighboring states like Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Mizoram.

Sarma assured that Assam will continue its independent efforts to introduce a legislation to prohibit polygamy.

He emphasized that the UCC is a matter to be decided by Parliament, with states having the ability to make their own decisions with the President's assent. The Law Commission and Parliamentary committee are currently examining the UCC, and the Assam government has already expressed its support for it.

The decision to ban polygamy in Assam is currently pending, he added, considering that it would be one of the segments of the larger bill on nationwide UCC. The Chief Minister, however, emphasized that they wanted to consider a ban on polygamy immediately in Assam.

In May, the CM Sarma had first announced that Assam will take legislative action to ban polygamy. To initiate this process, a committee was formed, led by retired Gauhati High Court judge, Justice Rumi Phukan.

The committee's task is to assess the legislative competence of the state legislature to pass a law against polygamy.

The committee has been given a deadline of 60 days to submit its report. However, if the expert committee completes the report earlier, the Chief Minister intends to introduce the bill in the Assembly session scheduled for September.

If that is not feasible, the bill will be introduced in the January session.

During a crackdown on child marriage earlier this year, it was discovered that many men in Assam were engaging in polygamy, often marrying minor girls, according to the CM.

Sarma emphasized that banning polygamy is crucial in addition to combating child marriage, adding that the crackdown alone is not a sufficient solution.