Assam Assembly passes bill to abolish Muslim marriages, divorces act

In a move to prevent child marriage and eliminate the 'Qazi' system in Muslim marriage registration, the Assam Government introduced a new bill, the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill, 2024, last week and the discussions on the same were held in the state assembly on Thursday.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "We want to abolish the Qazi system in the Muslim marriage registration process. Apart from it we also want to prevent Child marriage in the state."

However, the opposition party, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), has voiced its opposition to the abolition of the Qazi system.

"We are against Child marriage and the government can amend some provisions in the previous act, but they didn't and repealed the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act and Rules, 1935," AIUDF leader Aminul Islam said.

He added, "We have no other option but to take the matter to court."

The object of the proposal of the Assam Repealing Bill, 2024 is to replace the bill for the Assam Repealing Ordinance, 2024 for the repeal of the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935 and Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Rules, 1935.

It states that the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935 is a pre-independence Act adopted by the British India Government for the then Province of Assam for Muslim religious and social arrangements.

"The registration of marriages and divorces is not mandatory and the machinery of registration is informal leaving a lot of scope of noncompliance of extant norms," the Assam Repealing Bill, 2024 stated.

The Assam Minister Jogen Mohan said in the Statement of Object and Reasons of the Repealing Bill that, "There remains a scope of registering marriages of the intended person below 21 years (in case of male) and 18 years (in case of female) and hardly any monitoring made for implementation of this act throughout the state which attracts and invite the huge amount of litigation in the criminal/civil court. There is a scope of misuse by both authorized licensees (Muslim marriage Registrars) as well as by citizens for underage/minor marriages and forcefully arranged marriages without the consent of the parties." (ANI)