On Tuesday, May 9, the Assam government led by CM Himanta Biswas Sarma informed that it has decided to form a committee that will thoroughly investigate whether prohibiting the practice of polygamy by Muslim men in the state falls within the purview of the state government.
Speaking to ANI, the CM said that his government intends to prohibit polygamy through a state act rather than the UCC.
“We are not going through Uniform Civil Code (UCC), but we want to ban polygamy under a State Act. Assam Government has decided to form an expert committee to investigate whether the State Government has the authority to prohibit polygamy in the region. Assam Government wants to ban polygamy in the state,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
"We are not going through Uniform Civil Code (UCC), but we want to ban polygamy under a State Act. Assam Government has decided to form an expert committee to investigate whether the State Government has the authority to prohibit polygamy in the region. Assam Government wants to… pic.twitter.com/z7PRsXF3vH
— ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2023
According to the Assam Government, the committee will be tasked with scrutinising the provisions of The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Act, 1937, as well as Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, in relation to the directive principle of state policy for a uniform civil code.
The government said that the committee will engage in extensive discussions with all stakeholders, including legal experts, to arrive at a well-informed decision.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma also took to Twitter to inform about his government’s decision to form the aforementioned committee to scrutinise the legality of the practice.
The Assam Government has decided to form an expert committee to examine whether the state Legislature is empowered to prohibit polygamy in the state. The committee will examine the provisions of The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Act, 1937 read with Article 25 of the Constitution…
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) May 9, 2023
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference at No.1 State Guest House, Koinadhara, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the committee will consist of legal experts, and they will discuss with Islamic scholars and others to build consensus.
“I have studied it over the last weeks and found that Polygamy is not an essential Islamic practice.
Our target is both direct and indirect polygamy, men keep other wives without marriage, and this is worse than direct polygamy. Polygamy we are banning, but what about such de-facto polygamy? We want to attack both formal and informal polygamy. The committee will suggest ways to curb both.
The CM added that the legality of how to overcome this practice has to be examined. “Be it Hindu or Muslim, no one supports polygamy but the 1937 Shariat Act is in there and now legal experts will have to analyse and see how we can overcome that. Whether it needs the President’s assent or a state act is enough. For all this, the committee will comprise legal experts who would engage in extensive discussions with all stakeholders to arrive at a well-informed decision,” Sarma said.
The Himanta Biswa Sarma government also issued a press note on the said proposal, wherein it gave examples of several cases to assert how the issue of polygamy and its legality has constantly engaged several High Courts.
It was also stated that the topic of polygamy was challenged in the Supreme Court during the Shayara Bano case. The Supreme Court, however, had not ruled on polygamy and had only ruled on triple talaq, according to the note.
It may be recalled that on 26 February 2016, Shayara Bano filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the practice of triple talaq, halala and polygamy. This prompted the Modi government to file a petition against triple talaq based on her petition. Her petition wanted the court to strike down those Islamic practices on the premise that they violated Articles 14, 15, 21 and 25 of the Constitution. On August 22, 2017, the Supreme Court in a landmark judgement outlawed the practice of talaq-e-biddat or Instant Triple Talaq.
The court, had, however, not passed any ruling on the Islamic practices of polygamy and nikah halala then saying, “Other questions raised in the connected writ petitions, such as polygamy and “halala” (and other allied matters) would be dealt with separately.”
The note further asserted that the practice of ‘polygamy’ infringes on the fundamental rights of Muslim women under Articles 13, 14 and 21 of the constitution of India.
In addition, the Assam government stated that India is a signatory to various international conventions and covenants, such as the UN Committee on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and others, which state that polygamy violates the dignity of women and should be abolished wherever it exists.
‘Muslim daughters should be made doctors, engineers, not child-producing machines’: Himanta Biswa Sarma bats for UCC in Karnataka
It may be recalled that even while addressing an election rally at Ujire in Belthangady district in poll-bound Karnataka recently, Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, had advocated for the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code in Karnataka. The BJP leader emphasised the significance of the Uniform Civil Code, calling it the only solution to end the practice of ‘polygamy’ that is Muslim men marrying multiple women.
“Muslim women and daughters are made to marry over four times. We have to bring Uniform Civil Code. Muslim daughters should be made doctors, and engineers, not child-producing machines,” said the Assam CM.
Assam CM says polygamy, and instant talaq must be prohibited
Earlier also, the Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma declared categorically that the Assam government is quite clear about prohibiting Muslim males from marrying multiple women. According to him, no Muslim male should marry more than one woman. “It takes one wife, one husband, and two children to live a happy life,” he said.
