Assam cabinet approves bill to ban polygamy, proposes 7-yr jail term for guilty

Guwahati: Assam Cabinet on Sunday approved a bill that proposes to prohibit polygamy and grant seven years of imprisonment for the guilty.

The Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill, 2025, is scheduled to be tabled in the winter session of the Assembly from November 25.

The bill, after passage by the Assembly, however, seeks to exempt the ethnic communities and the areas under the three autonomous councils set up under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

These autonomous councils are Bodoland Territorial Council, Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council and Dima Hasao Autonomous Council. At least eight districts falls under the three councils.

Announcing the Cabinet's decision, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters on Sunday evening that after the bill is passed, polygamy will also become a cognizable offence, disallowed the accused to get bail immediately.

"Under this bill, polygamy is prohibited in respect of the person who shall not marry if he has a living spouse or is not legally separated from the other spouse by following due procedure of law or is a party to a marriage which is not yet dissolved or annulled by a decree of divorce. The Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill, 2025 further seeks to provide compensation to the victim women as they have to suffer immense pain and hardship due to polygamous marriage," Sarma said.

If the bill is passed by the Assembly, Assam will join Uttarakhand in banning polygamy. Uttarakhand was the first state to have banned polygamy last year.

Sources within the government said that the bill seeks to target the Muslims as polygamy is common among the community and has been blamed for rise in population and harassment of women.