GUWAHATI: The Assam government is eyeing to put a total ban on the practice of polygamy in the state.
This was informed by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday (May 09).
“We (Assam government) want to end polygamy in the state,” said CM Himanta Biswa Sarma in Guwahati.
“It doesn’t matter, whether a man is a Hindu or a Muslim, none can have multiple wives,” said Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Furthermore, the Assam government has decided to constitute a committee comprising experts, which will look into the matter.
“The Assam government has decided to constitute a committee to scrutinise the provisions of Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 along with Article 25 of the Constitution of India in relation to the directive principle of state policy for a uniform civil code (UCC),” Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
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“We are not going towards UCC, for which there must be a national consensus and central government will take the initiative, but in Assam we, as a part of UCC, want to end polygamy,” said CM Sarma.
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma further stated that the Assam government intends to declare polygamy as unconstitutional and illegal through a state act, “for which we will constitute a committee, which will deliberate will legal luminaries, Islamic scholars and other scholars and submit its recommendations to the Assam government”.
The experts’ committee will “examine whether the state legislature is empowered to prohibit polygamy” in Assam.
The committee will engage in extensive discussions with all stakeholders, including legal experts, to arrive at a well-informed decision, said Assam CM.
“We want to move in this path very soon. But as there are legal complications in this matter, we are making our intention clear today,” said Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.
“We want to ban polygamy through legislative action,” the Assam CM added.
The Assam chief minister further stated that previous orders by Supreme Court and high courts in regards to polygamy will act as the “basic document” for the experts committee.