Guwahati, Oct 29 The Assam government has set up a committee to frame rules for the Uniform Civil Code Bill in order to implement the law in the state, officials said.
According to a notification issued by the Political Department, the eight-member panel will submit the draft rules within a period of one month.
The Assam assembly had on May 27 passed ‘The Uniform Civil Code, Assam, 2026 Bill’, which seeks to establish a common legal framework to govern marriage, divorce, succession and live-in relationships irrespective of religion.
The Bill has been sent to the central government for the President’s assent, Home and Political Department Additional Chief Secretary Ajay Tewari said in the order dated October 13, which was made available to the media on Thursday.
Home and Political Department Secretary Deba Prasad Misra will be the chairman of the rule drafting committee, it said.
The panel members include Finance Special Commissioner and Secretary Partha Pratim Majumdar, Legislative Secretary Geetanjali D Saikia, Welfare of Minorities and Development Secretary Farida Samsul, and Home and Political Additional Secretary Mridul Kr Das.
In May, Assam became the third state, after Uttarakhand and Gujarat, to pass a Uniform Civil Code Bill.
The Assam government had brought in the Bill, seeking to ban polygamy and make registration of live-in relationships compulsory.
The Bill, however, is not applicable to any person belonging to the Scheduled Tribes category and residing in Assam. It has also proposed several punitive measures, including seven years’ imprisonment for bigamy or polygamy, and three months in jail for not registering a live-in relationship.
(PTI News)
