The Assam Assembly successfully passed the Uniform Civil Code Bill 2026 on Wednesday, making it the first northeastern state and third BJP-ruled state after Uttarakhand and Gujarat to implement such legislation. According to latest reports, the 126-member Assam Assembly passed The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, 2026 by voice vote on May 27, 2026, with the support of MLAs from the ruling BJP and its allies. The Bill had been introduced in the House on Monday by the BJP-led state government, making it a key promise ahead of the 2026 Assam assembly elections. The legislation seeks to create a single civil legal framework for all residents of the state, covering issues such as marriage, divorce, succession and live-in relationships irrespective of religion. Speaker Ranjeet Kumar Dass rejected the opposition's demand for a select committee review and put the Bill to voice voting after a day-long discussion.
Opposition members protested the Bill's passage by moving to the Well of the House and shouting slogans until the legislation was passed. As reported by Business Standard, the ruling members responded with slogans of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Jai Shree Ram' throughout the proceedings. Three Opposition parties—Congress, Raijor Dal, and Trinamool Congress—opposed the legislation, with Congress Legislature Party leader Wazed Ali Choudhury arguing that enforcing the UCC would infringe upon personal liberties and create social and religious tensions. All India United Democratic Front MLA Mazibur Rahman warned that the UCC would violate fundamental rights and existing legal provisions guaranteed to all citizens, including Assam's 34.22% Muslims. Trinamool Congress MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed said there was a clear violation of Quran's guidelines related to certain marriage practices, while Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi warned of potential surveillance and harassment by authorities.
The Bill includes several significant provisions, including a ban on polygamy and mandatory registration of live-in relationships. According to the legislation, seven years imprisonment is proposed for bigamy or polygamy, while three months jail term is prescribed for not registering live-in relationships. The Bill also specifies that it will not be applicable to any person belonging to the Scheduled Tribes and residing in Assam, who constitute 12.45% of Assam's population according to the 2011 Census. The new law provides mandatory registration of all marriages, divorces and live-in relationships, ensures equal succession rights for sons and daughters and for elderly parents, and acts against 'love jihad' by ensuring marriages and live-in relationships do not happen through coercion or deception. Under the draft law, marriages must be registered within 60 days of the ceremony, while couples in live-in relationships will have to register within 30 days. The Bill also lays down penalties for non-compliance, with deliberate failure to register a marriage or divorce within the stipulated period attracting a fine of ₹10,000, according to the state government.
Goa maintains a common civil law system that continues from its Portuguese colonial period, as noted in the Business Standard report. The passage of this Bill positions Assam alongside Uttarakhand and Gujarat as states that have moved toward implementing uniform personal laws across religious communities. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma pointed out that Goa has had a UCC since 1961, when it was under Portuguese rule, and that the Congress supported such legislation twice before India attained independence, first in 1925 and then in 1937 through a committee headed by Jawaharlal Nehru. He emphasized that Article 44 of the Constitution, one of the Directive Principles of State Policy, advocates a UCC. The Chief Minister said the passing of this law in Assam will be a big step towards gender justice, while opposition parties argued that excluding STs from its purview did not make the UCC 'uniform' and demanded that the proposed legislation be referred to a Select Committee for detailed examination.
