In a significant move, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that his government will introduce a bill for the compulsory government registration of Muslim marriages and divorces in the upcoming Autumn assembly session.

The bill, known as the Assam Compulsory Registration of Marriage And Divorce Bill, aims to address and prevent child marriages in the state.

Speaking to the media ahead of the monsoon session, Mr Sarma stated that the new legislation will prohibit the registration of marriages involving individuals under the age of 18.

This step is part of a broader effort to safeguard minors and ensure that all marriages comply with legal standards.

On Wednesday, the Assam Cabinet approved the Muslim Marriage Registration Bill 2024, which stipulates that marriage registrations will be handled by government authorities rather than Qazis.

Once enacted, the new law will make the registration of child marriages illegal.

In addition to the marriage registration bill, Mr Sarma revealed that the state government will introduce a new law criminalising “Love Jihad”, with provisions for life imprisonment for those found guilty. He also mentioned plans to propose a bill to prevent inter-religious land transfers.

The Assam government has previously decided to repeal the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorce Registration Act and Rules 1935 through the Assam Repealing Bill 2024. This repeal, along with the proposed new legislation, will be tabled in the next monsoon session of the state assembly.

Additionally, the State Cabinet has directed the preparation of suitable legislation for the registration of Muslim marriages in Assam, to be considered in the upcoming session.

Earlier, the Assam government had considered introducing legislation on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) following the Lok Sabha elections. Mr Sarma has also pledged that child marriages will be eradicated from Assam by 2026.

Guwahati:

The Assam government has barred its employees from marrying another person if the spouse is alive and warned of punitive action if they indulged in bigamy.

The ‘Office Memorandum’ (OM) by the personnel department, which did not mention a divorce criterion, instructed employees to obtain the government’s permission before marrying another person if the spouse is alive.

“No government servant who has a wife living shall contract another marriage without first obtaining the permission of the government, notwithstanding that such subsequent marriage is permissible under the personal law for the time being applicable to him,” it added.

Likewise, no female government servant shall marry any person who has a husband living without first obtaining the permission of the government, said the OM, which came into force with immediate effect.

The notification was issued by personnel additional chief secretary Niraj Verma on October 20, but it came to light on Thursday.

It said the guidelines have been issued as per the provisions of Rule 26 of The Assam Civil Services (Conduct) Rules 1965.

“In the context of the above provisions, the disciplinary authority may initiate immediate departmental proceeding…for imposition of major penalty, including compulsory retirement,” the order stated.

It termed such a practice as a gross misconduct on the part of a government servant having “large bearings” on society.

The OM further asked authorities to also take necessary legal steps whenever such cases are detected. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)