Can Assam Assembly End Polygamy? Himanta Sarma Gets Expert Panel Report

Guwahati:

An expert committee formed by the Assam government to examine the legislative competence of the state legislature to enact a law to end polygamy submitted its report to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday.

Mr Sarma shared pictures of the committee handing over the report to him and the cover of the document on Twitter.

“Today, the expert committee formed to examine the legislative competence of the state legislature to enact a law to end polygamy in Assam submitted its report. Assam is now closer to creating a positive ecosystem for women’s empowerment irrespective of caste, creed or religion,” the Chief Minister said.

The contents and recommendations of the report have not been made public yet.

Mr Sarma had announced the formation of the four-member expert committee headed by Justice (Retd) Rumi Kumari Phukan on May 12.

Besides Justice Phukan, other members of the committee are the state’s Advocate General Devajit Saikia, Senior Additional Advocate General Nalin Kohli and senior Advocate Nekibur Zaman.

On July 18, the Assam government had extended the term of the committee by a month from July 13 to August 12.

The committee was initially given a deadline of 60 days to submit its report. It was tasked to scrutinise the provisions of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Act, 1937 along with Article 25 of the Constitution in relation to the Directive Principles of State Policy for a Uniform Civil Code.

On July 13, Mr Sarma had said the Assam government conveyed to the authorities concerned that it was in support of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and wanted to ban polygamy immediately in the state.

The UCC is a matter which would be decided by Parliament, but the state can also take a call with the assent of the President, he had added.

“We want to take one of its segments, polygamy, and ban it immediately. We are planning to introduce the Bill it in the next Assembly session in September, and if we are unable to do it for some reason, we will do it in the January session,” Mr Sarma had said.

The opposition parties have slammed the decision of the government as diversionary and communal, especially at a time when suggestions on the UCC are being received by the Law Commission.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)