Inside Assam’s anti-polygamy push: What the new Bill says, who it exempts, and what comes next

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

The Assam government has approved the Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill, 2025, a law that seeks to make marrying more than one person a criminal offence. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at Lok Sewa Bhawan in Guwahati.

With this Bill, Assam is set to become the first northeastern state to outlaw polygamy. It proposes to make the act of marrying multiple times while a spouse is still alive a punishable offence, with a prison term of up to seven years. But more than the punishment, what the Chief Minister underlined was the intent: to protect women trapped in unfair marital arrangements and send a clear message about the government’s vision for social reform.

“Anybody, after the passing of this Bill, marrying for the second or third time will face imprisonment for seven years,” Sarma said, calling the offence “cognisable, meaning those accused will not be eligible for immediate bail.

“After the man is imprisoned, what will happen to the woman? To ensure that no woman becomes a victim, we will create a compensation fund,” he added, hinting at an unprecedented welfare provision linked directly to a criminal statute.

Exceptions and why

The Bill makes it illegal for anyone to enter into a new marriage if their existing one has not been legally dissolved. However, it stops short of applying to everyone. In a politically calibrated exemption, the Chief Minister clarified that the law would not extend to the state’s tribal population or be implemented in Assam’s six Scheduled Areas, which include the Bodoland Territorial Council, Dima Hasao, and Karbi Anglong districts.

“Tribal people will be excluded because they have some customs. In Sixth Schedule districts, if a minority Muslim has been there before 2005, he will also be exempted,” Sarma said, citing the need to respect traditional practices.

Assam’s social reform experiment

For Sarma, the Bill is more than just a legal instrument. It is part of a broader campaign to reshape Assam’s social fabric, one that he has consistently tied to demographic shifts and gender justice. In 2023, the government had formed a committee led by Justice (Retd.) Rumi Phukan to examine the legal feasibility of banning polygamy. The exercise gained momentum after Uttarakhand implemented its Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in 2024, with Sarma openly indicating that Assam would follow a similar path.

The Chief Minister has often linked such moves to data suggesting population imbalances between communities. “The Hindu growth rate has declined, while the Muslim population has increased in several blocks,” he said recently, framing the Bill as part of a longer-term social correction.

Beyond the Bill: Other Cabinet decisions

Sunday’s Cabinet meeting also approved several high-profile proposals that reflect the government’s economic and institutional ambitions. Among them were the Rs 478-crore Judicial Township project at Rangmahal in Guwahati, a new startup policy aimed at turning Assam into a tech hub by 2030, and the establishment of SU-KA-PHA University in Sivasagar.

What next?

The bill is expected to be presented in the state Assembly on November 25. Once the Bill clears the Assembly, the real work will begin, drafting the rules, creating the compensation fund, and establishing the enforcement mechanisms