The Bill states that the existing Act is prone to misuse, facilitating underage or forced marriages without the consent of the parties involved.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Assam presented a new Bill in the State Assembly on Thursday to repeal the law currently regulating Muslim marriages and divorces in the State. The Bill aims to abolish the Assam Moslem Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935, primarily due to its role in facilitating child marriages. It also offers additional reasons for repealing the Act. The statement of objects and reasons emphasizes that the 1935 Act is a pre-independence law enacted for the former Province of Assam to manage Muslim religious and social practices.
It also points out that the registration of marriages and divorces is not mandatory, and the informal registration process can lead to potential non-compliance with current regulations.
“There remains a scope of registering marriages of 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 huge amount of litigation in the criminal/ civil court,” it further suggests.
It also underscores that the current Act is vulnerable to misuse by both authorized registrars and citizens, allowing for underage or forced marriages without the consent of the parties involved.
