Assam tables UCC Bill: What the proposed law says about live-in relationships, polygamy

The Assam government tabled the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill in the state assembly on May 26, 2026, making Assam the third state to enact such legislation a...

What Happened

The Assam government tabled the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill in the state assembly on May 26, 2026, making Assam the third state to enact such legislation after Uttarakhand (2024) and Gujarat (2026).
The Bill mandates compulsory registration of all marriages and divorces and prohibits polygamy — bigamy and polygamy attract imprisonment of up to seven years under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Couples in live-in relationships must register their union within 30 days of cohabitation; failure to register invites imprisonment of up to three months or a fine of ₹10,000.
The Bill fixes minimum marriage age at 21 years for men and 18 years for women, and introduces gender-equal Class-I succession (spouse, children, parents share equally).
Scheduled Tribes in Assam — both Hill Tribes (governed under the Sixth Schedule) and Plains Tribes — are fully exempt from the Bill's provisions; existing religious and customary rites for solemnizing marriages are preserved for all.
A savings clause protects polygamous marriages solemnized before the UCC comes into force.
Children born of live-in relationships are declared legitimate under the Bill; deserted partners gain legal standing to claim maintenance.

Static Topic Bridges

Article 44 — Directive Principle for a Uniform Civil Code

Article 44 of the Indian Constitution (Part IV — Directive Principles of State Policy) directs: "The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India." The provision was inserted as Draft Article 35, debated on 23 November 1948 in the Constituent Assembly. DPSPs are non-justiciable (Article 37) but are fundamental to governance and must inform legislative policy.

Article 44 falls under Part IV (Articles 36–51), which covers Directive Principles.
As a DPSP, it cannot be enforced in court, but courts have invoked it to urge legislative action (e.g., Shah Bano case, 1985 — Mohammed Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum, AIR 1985 SC 945).
Goa is the only state currently operating a UCC, inherited from the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867 and retained under the Goa, Daman and Diu Administration Act, 1962.

Connection to this news: The Assam Chief Minister explicitly cited Article 44 as the constitutional directive underpinning the UCC Bill. Assam's legislation advances the DPSP's aspiration at the state level, following Uttarakhand's precedent.

Polygamy and Personal Law Frameworks

Polygamy is prohibited for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains under Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and under Section 44 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954. Christian marriage law also bars polygamy. Under the uncodified Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, Muslim men are permitted up to four wives, though this practice is governed by personal law. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 — which replaced the Indian Penal Code — retains bigamy as an offence (Section 82 BNS) but the older IPC Section 494 prescribed 7 years' imprisonment for bigamy.

Hindu Marriage Act, 1955: Section 5(i) voids polygamous marriages; Section 17 makes bigamy a criminal offence.
Special Marriage Act, 1954: Section 44 makes bigamy punishable.
Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937: does not codify a maximum on wives; courts have held polygamy permissible under Muslim personal law.

Connection to this news: By banning polygamy through the UCC Bill, Assam creates a uniform rule overriding personal law distinctions, subject to the tribal exemption.

Live-In Relationships: Legal Recognition Framework

The Supreme Court of India has consistently held that live-in relationships are not illegal. In S. Khushboo v. Kanniammal (2010) 5 SCC 600, the Court held that adults consensually cohabiting outside marriage commit no offence. In Tulsa v. Durghatiya (2008) 4 SCC 520, the Court recognised legitimacy of children born from long-cohabitation relationships. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDVA), under Section 2(f), defines "domestic relationship" to include relationships "in the nature of marriage," thereby extending protection to live-in partners. The Allahabad High Court in 2025 (batch of 13 writ petitions) reiterated that live-in relationships are constitutionally protected under Article 21 (right to life and liberty).

PWDVA, 2005: Section 2(f) covers relationships "in the nature of marriage"; Section 2(s) defines "shared household."
The Supreme Court in Badri Prasad v. Deputy Director of Consolidation gave legal weight to a 50-year live-in union.
Allahabad HC (2025): Live-in partners have the right to protection under Article 21 from family-based threats.

Connection to this news: Assam's Bill creates a mandatory registration framework for live-in relationships, formalising what judicial precedents have acknowledged informally — while adding a penalty regime that does not currently exist under central law.

Succession Law: Hindu Succession Act and Gender Equality

Under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (as amended by the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005), daughters enjoy equal coparcenary rights along with sons in ancestral property. Class-I heirs include the widow, sons, daughters, and mother (among others), and they inherit simultaneously. The 2005 amendment (Section 6 amendment) granted daughters equal rights in HUF coparcenary property.

Hindu Succession Act, 1956: Schedule specifying Class-I and Class-II heirs.
Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005: Daughters made coparceners by birth (effective 9 September 2005); Supreme Court in Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020) 9 SCC 1 confirmed retrospective application.
Muslim personal law follows Sharia-based inheritance — male heirs generally receive double the share of female heirs.

Connection to this news: Assam's UCC Bill proposes a gender-equal Class-I succession framework, replacing community-specific inheritance rules with a uniform standard — a significant departure from Muslim personal law norms on inheritance.

Key Facts & Data

Assam UCC Bill tabled: May 26, 2026.
States with UCC: Uttarakhand (Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand Act, 2024 — in force January 27, 2025); Gujarat (2026); Assam (2026 — pending passage).
Polygamy penalty under Assam UCC: up to 7 years' imprisonment under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Live-in registration deadline: 30 days from commencement of cohabitation.
Penalty for non-registration of live-in relationship: up to 3 months' imprisonment or ₹10,000 fine.
Minimum marriage ages: 21 (men), 18 (women) — consistent with Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2021, though that bill has not yet been enacted.
Tribal communities exempted: Scheduled Tribe (Hills) and Scheduled Tribe (Plains) — including communities in Sixth Schedule areas (Bodoland Territorial Region, Karbi Anglong, Dima Hasao).
Constitutional basis cited by state: Article 44 (DPSP).
Goa model: Portuguese Civil Code of 1867, retained under Goa, Daman and Diu Administration Act, 1962 — India's only pre-existing state-level UCC.