Qazis can't register Muslim marriages in Assam anymore: Himanta Sarma

Guwahati: Muslims in the state must register their marriages under a sub-registrar, and Qazis would not be able to do the registration in any Muslim marriage in the state, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sara said on Wednesday.

“Earlier, Qazis used to register Muslim marriages. However, this practice was stopped by an ordinance by the state government. Today, we have decided to bring a bill where it will be provisioned that only a sub-registrar can complete the registration process of Muslim marriages,” CM Sarma said, reports IANS.

He also clarified that this has nothing to do with the traditional marriage rituals.

“Different communities have diverse cultures for marriage rituals. Our bill has no role in that. It has provisioned the marriage registration only by a government officer. The rest will remain the same whether it is for a Hindu marriage or for a Muslim marriage,” Sarma added.

The Assam CM further said that earlier, marriage between Muslim boys and girls below 21 and 18 years of age, respectively, could be registered.

“But under the new law, this practice will be prohibited. No Muslim minor girl can register their marriage in the state from now on,” he said.

Meanwhile, the state Cabinet also decided to add more beneficiaries to the government’s flagship Orunoday scheme.

Sarma said, “We conducted a survey before the Lok Sabha polls where we found that at least 10 lakh females in the state are not getting the benefits of the Orunoday scheme. Hence, we have decided to include them in a fresh addition to this flagship scheme. As per the decision of the Cabinet, 12,60,000 new beneficiaries will be added to the Orunoday programme across the state. We have also fixed a target that in each assembly segment, at least 10,000 new beneficiaries will be included.”