An anti-polygamy law will be presented in the winter session of the Assam state assembly, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Thursday, adding the caveat that the proposed legislation may not be required if a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is enacted at the national level.
Pre-empting the political debate that the move could spark, Mr Sarma targeted his political opponents, asking, "If Congress leaders have daughters, will they give her in marriage to someone who already has two wives?"
The Assam government, led by Mr Sarma, had in May convened a four-member expert committee to examine the state legislature's authority to enact a law against polygamy. Headed by Justice (Retired) Rumi Phookan, the committee was given two months to submit its findings.
In addition to Justice Phookan, other members of the committee included Assam Advocate General Debajit Saikia, Additional Advocate General Nalin Kohli, and Senior Advocate Nekibur Zaman.
The Chief Minister announced the formation of the committee via Twitter, stating, "Following my announcement to form an expert committee to examine the legislative competence of the state legislature to enact a law to end polygamy, the state government has constituted the committee today... The committee has been given a deadline of 60 days to submit its report."
Mr Sarma had previously declared that the state government was exploring options to outlaw polygamy and would engage a panel of legal experts to investigate its legality.
The proposed committee was tasked with examining the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 in relation to the Directive Principles of State Policy for a Uniform Civil Code, as well as Article 25 of the Constitution, which grants freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion to Indian citizens.
Advertisement"We are not going towards Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for which a national consensus will be required, and the central government will take an initiative in this regard," Mr Sarma had clarified during a press conference on May 9, which marked the completion of two years of his government.
While Mr Sarma has emphasized that the UCC is a "much wider aspect", he announced his intention to ban polygamy in Assam as a step towards the UCC. "We are announcing our intention to ban polygamy in the state as one component of the UCC," he had declared.
AdvertisementThe UCC, which aims to replace religion-specific laws with a common law for all citizens, has come into focus after PM Modi made a strong pitch for it at a public event last month.
