GUWAHATI: BJP-governed Assam, which has been cited in an independent nationwide survey as a case study in curbing child marriage, approved Thursday a Bill to repeal a 1935 law that permits underage marriages among the Muslim community if specific conditions are met.
With the cabinet endorsing the proposal mooted in Feb, the Bill to abrogate the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorce Registration Act and Rules will be moved in the assembly’s upcoming monsoon session.
“We have taken a significant step to ensure justice for our daughters and sisters by putting additional safeguards against child marriage,” CM Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote on his X handle.
In February, cabinet minister Jayanta Malla Baruah said the move to repeal the “obsolete” British-era law was also meant to prepare the ground for the proposed Uniform Civil Code, following the example set by the BJP government in Uttarakhand.
The cabinet resolution to end child marriage states that the intention is “to bring parity in registration of marriage and divorce”. Assam began a crackdown on child marriage last year that led to scores of arrests across the state.
Under the 1935 Act, applications for marriage registration needed to be submitted jointly by the parties to the marriage, or by their legal guardians if the bridegroom or bride, or both, were minors.
CM Sarma said on more than one occasion that repealing the 1935 Act was a necessity as it contained provisions contravening the legal stipulation that a bride must be at least 18 and the groom 21 for a marriage to be deemed valid.