On Wednesday (13 September), the Governor of Assam formed a committee to draft appropriate legislation for banning Polygamy and other related issues in the state. The major decision taken towards ending polygamy was conveyed by an official notification issued by the government of Assam.
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Assam governor appoints a panel to draft legislation to end polygamy in the state. The panel will be drafting its proposed legislation within a span of 45 days.
Members of this committee are Devajit Saikia, Advocate General, Assam, Nalin Kohli…: @MohitBhatt90 pic.twitter.com/rdDaYtEchb
According to the notification, apart from polygamy, the committee will also draft legislations on matters like inter-religious marriage by false identity and the role of Kaji in the matter of child marriage among others.
The government notification states, “The Governor of Assam is pleased to constitute a Committee to draft an appropriate legislation for banning Polygamy and other related issues such as tackling inter-religious marriage by false identity, the role of Kaji in the matter of child marriage, etc. with the following members with immediate effect.”
The committee will be headed by Devajit Saikia who is the Advocate General of Assam and other appointed members of the committee include –
1. G.P. Singh – IPS, Director General of Police, Assam
2. Nalin Kohli – Senior Additional Advocate General, Assam
4. Romen Baruah – Legal Remembrancer and Secretary, Judicial Department, Assam
5. Biswajit Pegu – IAS, Secretary, Home and Political, Department, Assam – Member Secretary
According to the National Family Health Survey-5, around 2.4% of the marriages in Assam are polygynous. The state has the widest gap between Hindu and Muslim women admitting to being in such a marriage.
Earlier, the state Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that by December 2023 the state will witness the end of polygamy.
During an interaction with the media in Silchar, CM Sarma said, “The draft is under preparation, and by December Assam will see the end of polygamy and another round of arrest the state will see after September 15 on child marriages.”
In line with his announcement, the state government earlier formed an expert committee to look into this matter. In its report, the committee stated that the state assembly has the legislative competence to enact a law prohibiting polygamy in the state.
This was informed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma after the four-member committee led by Justice (Retired) Rumi Phookan handed over the report of the committee to him.
The committee was formed in May 2023 and it included Advocate General Debajit Saikia, Additional Advocate General Nalin Kohli, and lawyer Nekibur Zaman as its other members.
Although the CM stated that his government is considering whether to introduce the bill in the upcoming autumn session in September or the Budget session next year, he confirmed that the bill will be finalised this year itself.
