Assam govt decides to repeal Assam Muslim Marriage & Divorce Registration Act, 1935

The Assam government has decided to repeal the Assam Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act, 1935. The decision was taken in the cabinet meeting held in Guwahati last night.

Assam Tourism Minister Jayanta Malla  Baruah informed that the Assam Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act 1935 - on the basis of which 94 Muslim registrars had even now been doing the registration and divorce of Muslim marriages in the state has been repealed. He said that after this Muslim marriage registration or divorce registration cannot happen through the Act. The Assam government is to provide one-time compensation of two lakh rupees to the Muslim Marriage Registers for their



rehabilitation.

In a social media post, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the Assam cabinet made a significant decision to repeal the age-old Assam Muslim Marriages & Divorces Registration Act. He added that this Act contained provisions allowing marriage registration even if the bride and groom had not reached the legal ages of 18 and 21, as required by law. The Chief Minister further said that this move marks another significant step towards prohibiting child marriages in Assam.

The cabinet also introduced six tribal languages- Mising, Rabha, Karbi, Tiwa, Deori, and Dimasa- as a medium of instruction as per the New Education Policy 2020.