Overview
- The Assam government formally introduced The Uniform Civil Code, Assam, Bill, 2026 in the Legislative Assembly on Monday, May 25, with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Atul Bora presenting it on behalf of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
- The bill proposes a single civil code that fixes minimum marriage ages (21 for men, 18 for women), prohibits polygamy, creates uniform inheritance rules and for the first time requires registration of live‑in relationships.
- It exempts Scheduled Tribes in hill and plain areas and preserves traditional rites, while establishing administrative machinery for compulsory registration of marriages and divorces to secure legal rights for spouses and children.
- Opposition parties including the Congress, Raijor Dal and Trinamool Congress protested the tabling and demanded wider stakeholder consultation, and the Assembly is set for detailed debate and likely consideration later this week.
- If enacted, Assam would be the third state to adopt a UCC-style law after Uttarakhand and Gujarat; some reports also cite specific penalties such as imprisonment for polygamy and fines for non-registration but those penalty details are reported and not uniformly confirmed across sources.