Overview
- The Assam government presented Budget proposals on July 10 that would make people practising polygamy ineligible for state welfare schemes and would amend service rules to allow dismissal of government employees found to have practised polygamy.
- The measures build on the Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill passed in November 2025, which criminalises polygamy with penalties of up to seven years in jail and heavier terms for concealing an earlier marriage.
- Welfare disbursements are due to resume from August using a unified digital beneficiary architecture (DIDS) with Aadhaar authentication, a system the government says will be used to identify and exclude ineligible beneficiaries.
- Opposition parties and legal experts say the new administrative exclusions are unnecessary, risk targeting specific communities, may be unconstitutional, and could cause wrongful denial of benefits if digital verification fails.
- The proposals exempt Sixth Schedule areas and certain Scheduled Tribes and form part of a broader push for a state-level Uniform Civil Code, which the government says aims to advance women’s rights while critics warn of political and implementation challenges.