Assam passes Bill for compulsory govt registration of Muslim marriages & divorces, do away with Qazis

Guwahati: Assam Assembly on Thursday passed a bill making government registration of Muslim marriages and divorces mandatory and disallow under age marriage.

The bill that would replace the Assam Moslem Marriages and Divorces Registration Act 1935, also seeks to do away with the Kazis, who earlier used to solemnize Muslim marriages in the state.

The Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill 2024 was passed in the Assembly even as the Opposition parties called it discriminatory and BJP's attempt for polarisation.

Taking part in the discussion, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "our aim is not just to abolish child marriage but also to do away with the kazi system...we want to bring the registration of all marriages and divorces under the government system." Sarma further said, "We are not interfering with the marriages solemnised by Islamic rituals under Muslim Personal Law at all. Our only condition is that Islam prohibited marriages will not be registered." Responding to queries by AIUDF, Sarma said the marriages already solemnised by the Kazis will remain valid and only the new marriages will come under its purview. "We are not interfering with the nikah performed under the Muslim Personal Law but our condition is that marriages must be registered with the government."

Sarma said even in Muslim-majortiy Jammu and Kashmir and in Kerala, marriage registration by government officers was made compulsory in the past.

The statement of object and reason of the bill stated that it would help in prevention of child marriage and ensure minimum age for marriage for male is 21 years and for female 18 years. It will also prevent marriages without consent of the two parties and check polygamy. It said the bill will help in enabling the widows to claim their inheritance rights, other benefits and privileges which they are entitled after the death of her husband and deter men from deserting women after marriage.

On August 22, the state government introduced a bill for repealing the Assam Moslem Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935 saying that the "British-era act" had provisions for marriages of minors from the community.

The repealing bill said the 1935 act had scope of registration for marriage of male below 21 years and females below 18 years. Besides, registration of marriages and divorces is not mandatory and the machinery of registration is informal leaving a lot of scope for non-compliance of the extant norms, it said.

Under the new bill, the state government seeks to appoint designated officers as marriage registrars and prescribes legal action against anyone found making a false certificate.

In a social media post, Sarma on Thursday called it a historic day in BJP-led government's fight against child marriage. "It will also act as a strict deterrent against teenage pregnancy and improve the overall growth of our girls....This bill is above party politics and is a means to give our girls a life of dignity."

The Sarma government last year launched a drive against child marriages and arrested more than 3,000 men, mainly Muslims, for child marriages. Some women and Kazis were also arrested for aiding in child marriages. On Wednesday, Sarma said his government would bring in another bill before 2026 (next Assembly polls) to prohibit polygamy too.