The state Assam government has moved to achieve a major desired step towards the Uniform Civil Code by repealing the Assam Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act. All matters related to Muslim marriage and divorce will now come under the Special Marriage Act. The move comes weeks after Uttarakhand became the first state in independent India to pass such legislation. It remains less than three weeks after Uttarakhand became the first state to pass the Uniform Civil Code.
The District Commissioner and District Registrar will be responsible for registering marriages and divorces of Muslims. Not only this but reportedly as many as 94 Muslim registrars working under the repealed law will also be relieved from their defined posts. They will get a lump sum compensation of Rs 2 lakh.
The British had made teenage marriage easier through the old Act of 1935. In order to stop this, it has been decided to repeal the law. The Assam government had long ago made preparations to enact this sort of a law to stop polygamy.
The state government had formed a special committee consisting of retired High Court judges for this purpose. According to the committee report, the tradition of marriage of Muslim men to four women is not mandatory in Islam. Many see it as a first big step towards passing legislation on Uniform Civil Code.