Assam tables bill to repeal Muslim marriage law, cites ‘scope of misuse’
Experts have contended that repealing the 1935 Marriages and Divorces Registration Act would cause confusion.
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The Assam government on Thursday introduced a bill to repeal a law on the registration of Muslim marriages and divorces, saying that existing legislation has a “scope of misuse” to allow child marriage.
State minister Jogen Mohan tabled the 2024 Assam Repealing Bill in the Legislative Assembly to abolish the Assam Moslem Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935. The Act allows registrars operating in the districts to grant licences to Muslim persons to register marriages and divorces in line with Muslim personal law.
The Assam government said that the 1935 Act is a British-era law under which, registration of marriages and divorces is not mandatory and that the mechanism for registrations is informal, “leaving lot of scope of non-compliance”.
There is scope for registering marriages of men who were under 21 years and females below the age of 18, the Assam government said. It added that the implementation of the Act was hardly monitored, attracting litigations.
Mohan added: “There is a scope of misuse by both authorised licensees (Muslim marriage registrars) as well as by citizens for underage/minor marriages and forcefully arranged marriages without the consent of the parties.”
On Wednesday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the 1935 Act made registration of a Muslim marriage voluntary and that...
