GUWAHATI: The Assam Legislative Assembly passed a bill on Thursday mandating the compulsory registration of marriages and divorces among Muslims in the state.
While discussing the “Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill, 2024,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma assured that the government would respect Muslim personal law and Islamic rituals, even as it enforces compulsory registration.
“Marriages solemnized by qazis will remain valid, but with the new requirement for compulsory registration, this process must be conducted by government officials rather than private individuals,” the CM stated in the assembly.
Sarma also clarified that marriages previously registered by qazis, as well as those conducted without qazis in the last six months (following an ordinance that made qazis irrelevant), would be eligible for registration. However, any future marriages must be registered according to the new law.
The House also passed the Assam Repealing Bill, 2024, which repealed the colonial-era Assam Moslem Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935.
The Assam Repealing Bill is part of the government’s broader effort to prevent child marriages and eliminate the “Qazi” system in Muslim marriage registration. Sarma emphasized that since qazis are not government officials, they can no longer be authorized to register marriages. Instead, registration will be carried out by government-appointed officials for a symbolic fee of Re 1, with special sub-registrars appointed for this purpose.
Sarma vowed to end child marriage in Assam by 2026, stating that under the new law, girls must be at least 18 years old and boys 21 years of age on the date of marriage.
