Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that the state government wants to ban polygamy in the state and has decided to form an expert committee to check for legal provisions for the same.

The committee will engage broadly in discussions with all stakeholders

CM Himanta Sarma said that the state government wants to ban polygamy in the state and added that an expert committee will be formed to check if the state has the authority to prohibit polygamy in the region.

“We are not going through Uniform Civil Code (UCC), but we want to ban polygamy under a State Act. Assam Government has decided to form an expert committee to investigate whether the State Government has the authority to prohibit polygamy in the region. Assam Government wants to ban polygamy in the state”, CM Sarma said.

He further said that the committee will engage broadly in discussions with all stakeholders including legal experts and will scrutinize the provisions of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Act, 1937.

“The committee will scrutinize the provisions of The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Act, 1937, along with Article 25 of the Constitution of India, in relation to the directive principle of state policy for a uniform civil code. The committee will engage in extensive discussions with all stakeholders, including legal experts, to arrive at a well-informed decision”, he said.

Notably, BJP in its manifesto, has promised the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code in the state of Karnataka, on the basis of the recommendations of a high-level committee which is to be constituted for the purpose, if voted to power. This announcement is similar to the one, BJP made in the run-up to the Gujarat and Uttarakhand Assembly polls last year.