Assam government abolished Muslim marriage

The Assam government has abolished the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act 1935 to prevent child marriage in the state. This decision was taken in the cabinet meeting held late last night. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that on February 23, the Assam Cabinet, taking an important decision, has withdrawn the age-old Assam Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act.

The Assam government said that after the end of the Muslim marriage and divorce registration law, the registration of Muslim marriages will also be done under the Special Marriage Act by the district commissioner and district registrar, who used to register 94 Muslim marriages earlier. The government has announced that the registrars who registered Muslim marriages will be removed and they will be given a one-time compensation of 2 lakh rupees each.

The government has given the reasoning behind the removal of the law that this law dates back to the period of English rule. Registration of marriage and divorce was not necessary under the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act. Also, the system of marriage registration was completely informal due to which the rules were being ignored and child marriage was also not being monitored.

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Under the law, the state government used to give license to Muslims to register marriage and divorce, but now after the removal of the law, no person will be able to register marriage and divorce and it will all be formal. State government minister Jayant Malla Barua also claimed that the passing of this law is an important step towards implementation of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state.