The Legislative Assembly of Assam has passed the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill, 2024, which makes it compulsory for all Muslims to register their marriages and divorces with the state government.
The Legislative Assembly of Assam has passed the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill, 2024, making the registration of all Muslim marriages and divorces with the state government mandatory.
The Bill was introduced in the state Assembly by Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Jogen Mohan on August 27 and passed on August 29. the new law also invalidated marriage between people, who were not of the legal age (18 years for women and 21 years for men).
Introducing the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill, 2024, Mohan said that it aimed at preventing teenage pregnancy, child marriage, and marriages without the consent of both parties.
The new law would also prevent men from deserting their wives after marriage, as well as ban the registration of child marriages in Assam, he added.
Taking part in the discussion, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the Bill aimed at improving the quality of life for young girls. He said that all earlier registrations of marriages conducted by Kazis woud remain valid and only new ones would come under the purview of the legislation.
The Chief Minister said the state government was not interfering with the marriages solemnised by Islamic rituals under the Muslim Personnel Law at all. It wanted to bring the registration of Muslim marriages and divorces under the government system.
The aim of the state government was not only to abolish child marriages but also to get away with the Kazi system. Its only condition was that Islam-prohibited marriages should not be registered in Assam, noted Sarma.
He said the new rule would help check polygamy and enable married women to claim their right to live in matrimonial houses, as well as maintenance. It would also enable widows to claim their inheritance rights and other benefits and privileges, which they were entitled to after the death of their husbands.
Earlier, Muslim marriages were registered by Kazis. This new law would ensure that all marriages in the community get registered with the government.
The Assam Assembly also passed on Thursday the Assam Repealing Bill, 2024, which abolished the Assam Moslem Marriages and Divorces Registration Act 1935, and the Assam Repealing Ordinance 2024.