Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill, 2025

The Assam Legislative Assembly passed the Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill in 2025, making Assam the second state after Uttarakhand to legislate against polygamy, proposing imprisonment as a punitive measure.

Context and Legal Framework

• While the Indian Penal Code, also known as the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), criminalises bigamy, its application varies based on religious identity.
• The absence of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) means marriage, divorce, and succession are governed by personal laws.
• Personal laws such as the Hindu Marriage Act, Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, and Indian Christian Marriage Act prohibit bigamy for most of the populace, except Muslims.
• Muslim personal law allows polygamy, exempting Muslim men from BNS penalties.

Assam and Uttarakhand Legislation

• Both states aim to override Muslim personal law exemptions within their jurisdictions.
• The Assam Bill categorises polygamy as a cognisable and non-bailable offence with penalties up to 10 years if fraud is involved.
• Civil disabilities include ineligibility for public employment and election candidacy in Assam.
• Exceptions exist for tribal communities, maintaining their customary practices.

Goa Exception

• Goa operates under the Portuguese Civil Code, mandating monogamy while allowing conditional polygamy for Hindus, though it is rarely applied.

Judicial and Future Perspectives

• The Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that polygamy is not essential to Islam, allowing the state to reform such practices.
• Gujarat may be next to outlaw polygamy, having set up a committee for a draft UCC.