Assam’s new anti-polygamy bill: How will it impact Muslims?

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has tabled the bill in the Assembly on Tuesday.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has tabled a bill in the Assembly to ban polygamy. It prescribes imprisonment and heavy fines for people entering, or hiding, a second marriage while the first continues to be valid.

The cabinet had cleared the bill earlier this month to prohibit and eliminate polygamy across the state, excluding areas under the Sixth Schedule.

What does the bill propose?

It proposes to make polygamy a cognizable criminal offence. It means that those accused will not be eligible for immediate bail. Sarma had earlier said the legislation has been framed “to save society from the scourge of such practices" and to promote lawful marital relationships.

Under the Bill, polygamy entails entering a marriage if someone already has a living spouse, if not legally separated from another spouse, or if in a marriage not yet dissolved or annulled by decree of divorce and is pending appeal.

It proposes to make marriage under such conditions punishable with imprisonment up to seven years and a fine. If the offence is accompanied by “concealment of the former marriage from the person with whom subsequent marriage is contracted”, the imprisonment should be for up to 10 years.

It covers any resident of Assam who willingly and knowingly enters into a polygamous marriage outside the state but owns immovable property Assam or receives state-funded benefits, subsidies, or welfare support.

It brings village heads, Muslim clerics who solemnise marriages, parents, and legal guardians of people indulging in polygamy under its scope. Anyone who “willfully hides, neglects or unreasonably delays” information to the police about such marriages may be punished as the main offenders and jailed for up to two years and fined up to Rs 1 lakh.

The fine may also extend to Rs 1.5 lakh for any priest or Muslim cleric who solemnises a marriage contrary to the provisions of the law knowingly and willingly.

The bill also proposes that those convicted under the anti-polygamy law should be ineligible for government-funded or aided jobs and benefits under any government scheme. They will also be barred from contesting any election in the state.

Any person who had been a resident of Assam before the Act and entered a polygamous marriage outside Assam after the Act will be liable for punishment. This will also apply to any person who was not a resident of Assam before the Act and performed a polygamous marriage within Assam subsequently.

Compensation for women

The Bill also includes a provision for financial compensation to women who are “victims” of polygamous marriages. According to the bill, the state government will designate an authority for considering compensation to such women.

Will it help Muslim women?

While the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 made polygamy illegal and a criminal offence for Hindus, Muslims in India are still legally permitted to practise it.  The bill may attract opposition from religious groups who view polygamy as sanctioned by personal law. However, this bill will help in standardising the marriage norm and remove religious exemptions in the interest of women’s dignity and equality.

Once passed, the law will come into effect following the framing of its rules and the establishment of administrative mechanisms, including the compensation fund for affected women.

This is not the first time Sarma pushed for this kind of an initiative. In 2023, the Assam government had unveiled its intention to introduce a law against polygamy and appointed a committee headed by retired Gauhati High Court judge Justice Rumi Phukan to assess whether the state legislature possessed the legal authority to enact such a measure.

Meanwhile, Opposition leaders have argued that the bill is a "purely political move” and say that the state law should not interfere with personal matters.