Guwahati:

Taking a major step towards Uniform Civil Code (ICC), the Assam government has decided to repeal the personal law governing marriage and divorce among Muslims.

UCC refers to a common set of laws applicable to all Indian citizens and is not based on religion in dealing with personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption.

With Uttarakhand becoming the first state to pass a UCC law earlier this month, Assam is also hinting at bringing in a similar law. There is talk that the Himanta Biswa Sarma government may introduce the UCC bill during the budget session ending on February 28.

In a first step in this direction, Assam minister Jayant Malla Barua on Friday said the cabinet has decided to repeal the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act. Mr Barua said the government now wants to bring all such cases under the Special Marriage Act.

Know here what will change after the law is repealed:

formalize registration

Current law allows voluntary registration of marriages and divorces among Muslims. It is not mandatory to register such cases under law. Mr Sarma said the registration machinery is also informal which provides scope for non-compliance with the existing norms.

no more muslim registrar

Muslim registrars licensed to register marriages and divorces in the community will not be able to register marriages and divorces after the law is repealed. Mr Barua said a lump sum compensation of Rs 2 lakh would be given to 94 Muslim registrars who registered marriages under the law.

Custody of registration records

According to Mr Sarma, after the law is scrapped, district commissioners and district registrars will have “custody of registration records”. The registration will be done under the supervision and control of the Inspector General of Registration, Assam. At present, 94 Muslim marriage registrars have the authority to be custodians of such records.

stop child marriage

Current law allows marriages to be registered even if the bride and groom have not reached the legal age of 18 and 21 years. Mr Sarma said scrapping the law would be an important step towards stopping child marriage in Assam.