Himanta Sarma Govt Repeals Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act in a Step Towards UCC

The Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935 has provisions to allow marriage registrations of brides and grooms aged below 18 and 21 years respectively. The Assam cabinet has given its nod to repeal the act claiming it would help to stop child marriages while a minister said it's a step towards implementation of the UCC.

Guwahati (Assam):The BJP-led Assam government has approved repealing the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935. The approval given at the cabinet meeting on Friday is aimed at preventing child marriages while government spokesperson and cabinet minister Jayant Malla Baruah termed it as a step towards implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state.

"From now on, under the new rules, the responsibility of registering Muslim marriages and divorces will be in charge of the district commissioner and district registrar. The state's 94 Muslim registrars, who were appointed under the repealed act, will also be released from their posts and a one-time sum of Rs 2 lakh each will be given to them," Baruah said after the cabinet meeting.

The cabinet minister also said that the government's move will play an important role especially in banning child marriages. Justifying its decision to scrap the law, Assam government said it is an age-old law from the pre-independence era enacted by the British for the then State of Assam. The act had provisions to allow marriage registrations even if the groom and bride are below 21 and 18 years respectively.

Baruah said that the Assam government is moving ahead to resolve the issue of marriage below the age of 18 years for women and below 21 years for men by repealing this law.

Announcing the decision on his X handle, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the Assam cabinet has decided to repeal the age-old Assam Muslim Marriages & Divorces Registration Act. "This act contained provisions allowing marriage registration even if the bride and groom had not reached the legal ages of 18 and 21, as required by law. This move marks another significant step towards prohibiting child marriages in Assam," Sarma tweeted.

The move by the Assam government has caught the country's attention weeks after Uttarakhand became the first state to pass the UCC. On February 12, Sarma had hinted that the government would take some decision on enacting the UCC in the state.

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