Assam Assembly passes Uniform Civil Code Bill

Guwahati: The Assam Assembly on Wednesday passed the UCC Bill that seeks to put in place a common legal framework to govern marriage, divorce, succession and live-in relationships irrespective of religion, even as the opposition demanded that it be sent to a select committee.

With the passage of the proposed legislation, Assam became the third state, after Uttarakhand and Gujarat, to pass a Uniform Civil Code Bill.

Goa also has one common civil law, which continued from its erstwhile Portuguese colonial period.

After a day-long discussion on the 'The Uniform Civil Code, Assam, 2026 Bill', Speaker Ranjeet Kumar Dass asked Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to move it for passage.

Dass rejected the opposition's demand that the Bill be sent to a select committee for wider consultation, prompting them to move to the Well of the House and keep on shouting till the Bill was passed.

The Speaker put the Bill for voice voting, amid continuous slogans of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Jai Shree Ram' by the ruling bench.

"I declare that the Bill is passed," he said after the ruling members voted in favour of it.

As soon as the Bill was passed, it was welcomed by a thunderous applause.

Aiming for a common set of laws on a range of personal matters like marriage, divorce, succession and live-in relationships irrespective of religion, the Assam government had on Monday tabled a Bill on the Uniform Civil Code, seeking to ban polygamy and make registration of live-in relationships compulsory.

The Bill, however, said that it will not be applicable to any person belonging to the Scheduled Tribes and residing in Assam. It proposed several punitive measures, including seven years imprisonment for bigamy or polygamy, and three months in jail for not registering a live-in relationship.