Assam Cabinet approves bill to ban polygamy, exempts tribal communities

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that the state Cabinet has approved a bill to ban polygamy, under which those convicted may face up to seven years of imprisonment.

Speaking to reporters, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said that the 2025 Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill will be tabled in the Assembly on November 25. Polygamy is the practice of having more than one wife.

The draft legislation exempts Scheduled Tribe communities, Sarma said.

It will also not “immediately” apply to areas under the Bodoland Territorial Council, the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council and the Dima Hasao Autonomous Council under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Eight out of Assam’s thirty-five districts are part of the three councils.

The Sixth Schedule guarantees protection for land and nominal autonomy for citizens in designated tribal-dominated areas.

The law will apply to everyone else in the state, the chief minister said, but added that Muslims residing in a Sixth Schedule area prior to 2005 will be exempted.

Sarma on Sunday said that the state government will also create a fund to compensate the victims of polygamy, PTI reported. “The government will help with financial support in the required cases so that no woman faces hardship in her life,” the news agency quoted him as saying.

The chief minister has for long...

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