From polygamy and live-in relationships to inheritance: What Assam’s sweeping UCC Bill seeks to regulate

Assam's Uniform Civil Code Bill, introduced in the state assembly on May 26, 2026, proposes the most comprehensive overhaul of personal law in the state's hi...

What Happened

Assam's Uniform Civil Code Bill, introduced in the state assembly on May 26, 2026, proposes the most comprehensive overhaul of personal law in the state's history, covering marriage, divorce, succession, and live-in relationships.
On polygamy: the Bill institutes an absolute ban — polygamous unions entered after the UCC's commencement are void and criminal; existing polygamous marriages are protected by a savings clause but cannot be expanded.
On live-in relationships: couples must register within 30 days with designated authorities; children born from registered live-in relationships are treated as legitimate; the deserted partner gains standing to claim maintenance through courts.
On inheritance: the Bill creates a gender-equal Class-I succession order encompassing spouse, children (sons and daughters equally), and parents — replacing community-specific rules including those under Muslim personal law where daughters inherit half the share of sons.
On marriage registration: compulsory for all communities regardless of religion; divorce must also be registered; records form the evidentiary basis for maintenance and inheritance claims.
Scheduled Tribe communities (both Hill and Plains) are excluded from all provisions; religious solemnization rites are preserved across communities.
The Bill fixes minimum marriage age at 21 years (men) and 18 years (women) — a uniform standard across all communities.

Static Topic Bridges

Uniform Civil Code (UCC) — Article 44 and Progressive Implementation

Article 44 of the Indian Constitution mandates the State to endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for all citizens. This directive has been operationalised only partially and incrementally at the national level through legislations such as the Hindu Code Bills of the 1950s. At the state level, Uttarakhand became the first state to enact a UCC (Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand Act, 2024; in force January 27, 2025). Assam's Bill follows this template with state-specific adaptations.

Article 44 (Part IV, DPSP): Non-justiciable but fundamental to governance; courts cannot enforce it but can invoke it in judgments.
Goa's UCC (Portuguese Civil Code, 1867; retained under Goa, Daman and Diu Administration Act, 1962): India's only pre-existing UCC — covers compulsory marriage registration, monogamy, equal spousal property rights.
Supreme Court in Shah Bano (AIR 1985 SC 945): Explicitly called for UCC to resolve contradictions in personal law.
Supreme Court in Sarla Mudgal v. UOI (1995) 3 SCC 635: Directed government to enact UCC; noted second marriages by Hindu men after conversion to Islam were bigamous.

Connection to this news: Assam's Bill is a direct legislative response to the Article 44 directive; its substantive content — gender-equal inheritance, monogamy mandate, live-in registration — reflects the core objectives courts have cited while urging UCC enactment.

Polygamy: Muslim Personal Law vs. Statutory Law

Polygamy is prohibited for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains under Section 5(i) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (read with Section 17, which makes bigamy a criminal offence punishable under the IPC/BNS). For Christians, the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872 and Divorce Act, 1869 bar polygamy. Under the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, polygamy (up to four wives with conditions of equal treatment) is permitted as personal law for Muslim men. The Indian government has not enacted a statute prohibiting Muslim polygamy at the national level.

Hindu Marriage Act, 1955: Section 5(i) — neither party should have a living spouse at time of marriage; Section 17 — bigamy punishable under IPC Section 494 / BNS Section 82.
Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937: Sharia principles on polygamy not codified statutorily; remain personal law.
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023: Retains bigamy offence; maximum imprisonment 7 years.
Uttarakhand UCC, 2024: Bans polygamy for all non-tribal residents.

Connection to this news: Assam's Bill extends the polygamy prohibition to all communities (except Scheduled Tribes), which is the most significant departure from Muslim personal law — similar in intent to the Triple Talaq prohibition enacted through the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019.

Inheritance and Succession: Hindu Succession Act and Muslim Personal Law

The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (as amended in 2005) governs inheritance for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains. The 2005 Amendment (Section 6) granted daughters equal coparcenary rights in ancestral property — confirmed retrospectively by the Supreme Court in Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020) 9 SCC 1. Muslim inheritance follows the classical Hanafi school rules under which the Quranic formula generally allocates daughters half the share of sons (Quran 4:11) and widows one-eighth (if there are children) or one-fourth (if no children). Christian inheritance is governed by the Indian Succession Act, 1925.

Hindu Succession Act, 1956: Schedule — Class-I heirs: widow, son, daughter, mother, etc. (all inherit simultaneously).
Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005: Section 6 amended to make daughters coparceners; Vineeta Sharma (2020) held this applies even if the father died before 2005.
Muslim inheritance: No statutory codification; governed by personal law — daughters get half of sons' share; testamentary bequests cannot exceed one-third of estate without heirs' consent.
Indian Succession Act, 1925: Governs Christians, Parsis, and others not covered by Hindu or Muslim personal law.

Connection to this news: Assam's Bill introduces a single gender-equal succession order replacing these differentiated frameworks — daughters and sons inherit equally as Class-I heirs; every adult can execute a Will for testamentary succession regardless of religion.

Compulsory Marriage Registration

The Supreme Court in Seema v. Ashwani Kumar (2006) 2 SCC 578 directed all states and Union Territories to make marriage registration compulsory, regardless of religion. Despite this, registration remains optional in several states and communities. The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 and state-specific laws govern civil registration, but no central statute mandates universal marriage registration for all communities.

Supreme Court in Seema v. Ashwani Kumar (2006) 2 SCC 578: Directed compulsory registration across all religions; states to enact rules within 3 months (order largely unimplemented uniformly).
Hindu Marriage Act, 1955: Section 8 — State may make rules for registration; not compulsory at the national level.
Special Marriage Act, 1954: Registration is inherent to solemnization under this Act.
Law Commission's 270th Report (2017) recommended a central law for compulsory marriage registration.

Connection to this news: Assam's Bill operationalises the Supreme Court's 2006 direction by making marriage and divorce registration compulsory through statute, creating a legal evidentiary basis for maintenance and inheritance claims.

Key Facts & Data

Assam UCC Bill tabled: May 26, 2026.
Polygamy penalty: up to 7 years' imprisonment (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita).
Live-in relationship registration window: 30 days from commencement of cohabitation.
Penalty for non-registration of live-in: up to 3 months' imprisonment or ₹10,000 fine.
Minimum marriage age: 21 (men), 18 (women) — uniform across all communities.
Inheritance: gender-equal Class-I succession (spouse, children, parents); testamentary succession right for all adults.
Savings clause: polygamous marriages solemnized before UCC commencement are protected but cannot be extended.
Tribal exemption: all Scheduled Tribes (Hills and Plains) exempt.
Uttarakhand UCC, 2024: in force January 27, 2025 — precedent Assam follows.
Seema v. Ashwani Kumar (2006) 2 SCC 578: Supreme Court's direction for compulsory marriage registration for all religions.
Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020) 9 SCC 1: Daughters' equal coparcenary rights confirmed retrospectively.