Guwahati: The Assam Assembly on Wednesday passed the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, which seeks to establish a single civil legal framework for all residents on matters related to marriage, divorce, succession and live-in relationships.
With this, Assam becomes the first state in the Northeast and the third state in the country after Uttarakhand and Gujarat to pass the UCC Bill.
After an extensive discussion, Speaker Ranjeet Kumar Dass asked Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to move the Bill for its passage.
The opposition parties demanded that the legislation be sent to a select committee for wider consultation. When the Speaker rejected it, the Opposition members trooped to the Well and kept shouting slogans till the Bill was passed.
The Opposition MLAs viewed UCC as a “political agenda” of the ruling BJP.
“Issues related to polygamy, child marriage, registration of marriage and divorce, alimony, etc., mentioned in UCC are already enforced in the form of different laws. Therefore, what was the need for UCC?” asked Congress Legislature Party leader Wajed Ali Choudhury.
Mazibur Rahman, MLA of All India United Democratic Front, alleged that a process was underway to curtail the rights of certain sections of society.
Sarma called the Bill’s passage a watershed moment in Assam’s history. He said it fulfilled three important issues – the implementation of Article 44 of the Constitution, BJP’s founding ideals and its Assam electoral promise.
“With the passage of UCC, every person from every religion in any region of Assam, except the Sixth Schedule areas, will be equal before the law in terms of these civil matters. I thank all NDA legislators for wholeheartedly supporting this crucial Bill,” he said.
The Bill recognises live-in relationships with mandatory registration with the Sub-Registrar, irrespective of whether the people are citizens of Assam or not. Non-compliance to register a live-in relationship within one month will result in imprisonment for three months, fine of Rs 10,000, or both.
Children born of a registered live-in relationship will be automatically legitimate. If a man deserts his live-in partner, she can claim maintenance in court.
A live-in cannot be registered if the partners are close relatives, or either is already married or in another live-in, or either is a minor, or if consent was obtained by force or fraud.
According to the Bill, women will get a few extra grounds for divorce if the husband has been guilty of rape or unnatural offences, or if he had more than one wife from before this Code began, etc. The Bill bans instant triple talaq. It says divorce can happen only through a court decree.
The Bill, which mandates monogamy and sets a standardised legal age of 21 years for grooms and 18 years for brides, says all marriages must be compulsorily registered. Bigamy and polygamy shall invite imprisonment up to seven years.
The Bill explicitly excludes Scheduled Tribes to preserve their constitutional protections. It safeguards cultural diversity by granting full freedom of ritual, allowing marriages to be solemnised through any existing religious ceremony or custom, including “Vedic Bibah, Ahom Chaklong, Saptapadi, Ashirvad, Nikah, Holy Union, Anand Karaj.”
