Assam to sack employees practising polygamy: Himanta Sarma
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Guwahati: The BJP-led Assam government has announced that government employees found practising polygamy will be dismissed from service, while those in polygamous marriages will also be barred from receiving benefits under state welfare schemes, according to a report by Scroll.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma made the announcement during a post-Budget press conference on Friday, months after the Assam Assembly passed the Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill, 2025.
The legislation proposes up to seven years' imprisonment for those convicted of polygamy and up to 10 years in jail for concealing a previous marriage. It also holds parents, priests and village heads liable for abetting the offence if they conceal a polygamous marriage from the police or unreasonably delay informing the authorities.
The Bill had drawn criticism from Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi, who argued that it undermines constitutional guarantees related to freedom of conscience and the right to manage religious affairs.
The Assembly also passed the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill on May 27, seeking to prohibit polygamy and make the registration of live-in relationships compulsory. The UCC aims to establish a common legal framework governing marriage, divorce, succession and adoption, replacing religion-based personal laws with a uniform system.
Sarma later said the UCC would not apply to Assam's tribal communities and would not interfere with their religious or traditional practices. He maintained that the code would override personal laws in the interest of national integration.
With the legislation, Assam is set to become the third state after Uttarakhand and Gujarat to introduce a Uniform Civil Code. The BJP has long championed the UCC, often focusing on Muslim personal law during its campaigns, arguing that existing provisions permit practices such as polygamy and discriminate against women.