Guwahati: Amid the demand of opposition political parties to refer it to the select committee, the Assam assembly on Wednesday passed the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, 2026. The Bill was passed amid uproar from the opposition which demanded that the legislation be sent to the select committee.
The Bill was introduced in the House on Monday by the BJP-led state government, making Assam the first northeastern state and the third BJP-ruled state after Uttarakhand and Gujarat to move ahead with such legislation.
The UCC was also one of the BJP’s key promises ahead of the 2026 Assam assembly elections, and the state Cabinet approved the draft during its first meeting earlier this month.
The legislation seeks to create a single civil legal framework for all residents of the state, covering issues such as marriage, divorce, succession and live-in relationships.
Among its key provisions, the Bill proposes a ban on polygamy and makes the registration of marriages and live-in relationships mandatory. The Bill also makes it mandatory that marriages must be registered within 60 days of the ceremony, while couples in live-in relationships will have to register within 30 days.
The Bill also lays down penalties for non-compliance, with deliberate failure to register a marriage or divorce within the stipulated period attracting a fine of Rs 10,000. The Bill, however, said that it will not be applicable to any person belonging to the Scheduled Tribes and residing in Assam. It proposed several punitive measures, including seven years imprisonment for bigamy or polygamy, and three months in jail for not registering a live-in relationship.
Earlier, after a day-long short debate over the Bill the opposition Congress demanded that it should be sent to the select committee of the House for a wider consultation among the stakeholders. However, speaker Ranjeet Kumar Dass rejected the opposition’s demand that the Bill be sent to a select committee for wider consultation, prompting them to move to the Well of the House and keep on shouting till the Bill was passed.
The Speaker put the Bill for voice voting, amid slogan shouting of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Jai Shree Ram’ by the ruling bench. “I declare that the Bill is passed,” the Speaker said after the ruling members voted in favour of it.
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