Assam: The Assam Assembly, on Wednesday, May 27, passed the contentious Uniform Civil Code (UCC), making it the first northeastern state and the third Indian state, after Uttarakhand and Gujarat, to implement the legislation.
The Uniform Civil Code, Assam, 2026 Bill was tabled on May 25 in the Assembly by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Atul Bora on behalf of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The Bill makes a common set of laws on a range of personal matters like marriage, divorce, succession and live-in relationships irrespective of religion.
It sought to ban polygamy and make the registration of live-in relationships compulsory. It found guilty, it proposes seven years imprisonment for bigamy or polygamy, and three months in jail for not registering a live-in relationship.
However, the bill excludes persons belonging to the Scheduled Tribes residing in Assam.
Speaking in the Assembly, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa justified the exclusion, saying they already have many customary laws for ages on such personal matters.
“Tribals don’t support polygamy, give equal rights to girls and don’t recognise live-in relationships. They, in a way, have been implementing the UCC for ages. Self-regulation is the best regulation. So, we don’t want to impose it on the tribals,” Sarma said.
Lone Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA in the Assam Assembly, Sherman Ali Ahmed, staged a walkout, opposing certain provisions of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill and alleging that the proposed law has been introduced by the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with “malicious intention.”
Participating in the debate, he said the government cannot bring in a law which is “violative of the Fundamental Rights.”
He, however, welcomed several provisions in the draft legislation, like fixing the minimum marriageable age and regulations on live-in relationships.
The TMC legislator maintained that the clause in the Quran on multiple marriages is “misinterpreted”.
“While I was ready to support the UCC, broad-based discussions were needed on certain issues,” Ahmed said.
(With PTI inputs)
