Guwahati: The Assam Cabinet has approved the draft of the Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill, 2025, paving the way for a law that seeks to criminalise polygamy across the state. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the bill will be tabled in the Assembly on November 25 and will include penalties of up to seven years in prison for those convicted.
The proposed legislation exempts Scheduled Tribe communities and will not apply immediately to regions under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, including the Bodoland Territorial Council, Karbi Anglong, and Dima Hasao Autonomous Councils. These areas enjoy limited autonomy due to their tribal status.
Sarma added that Muslims residing in Sixth Schedule areas before 2005 will also be exempted. Critics argue that this clause offers symbolic protection while enabling selective enforcement. The law, in practice, will affect non-tribal areas with large Muslim populations.
The chief minister said the bill aims to “empower Muslim women” and announced a state fund to assist women affected by polygamy. “The government will provide financial help where required so that no woman faces hardship,” he said.
Polygamy is permitted under Muslim personal law, while it was prohibited for Hindus through the Hindu Code Bill in the 1950s. Legal experts and rights groups have raised concerns that the proposed law is part of a larger push toward a Uniform Civil Code, which they say risks undermining India’s plural legal framework and constitutional protection of religious freedom.
