On Thursday, May 11, the Assam government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, constituted a four-member committee to examine the legal authority of the state legislature to implement a law prohibiting polygamy.
Taking to Twitter, the Assam CM announced the formation of the four-member committee and revealed the names of the committee members adding that the committee has been given a deadline of 60 days to present its report.
“Following my announcement to form an expert committee to examine the legislative competence of state legislature to enact a law to end polygamy, the state government has constituted the committee today. The committee comprises the following members: 1. Justice (Retired) Smt. Rumi Phookan as Chairperson 2. Sri Debajit Saikia, Advocate General, Assam -Member 3. Sri Nalin Kohli, Additional Advocate General, Assam – Member 4. Sri Nekibur Zaman, Advocate. The committee has been given a deadline of 60 days to submit its report,” CM Sarma tweeted.
The four-member committee is tasked with scrutinizing the provisions of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Act of 1937, as well as Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, in connection to the state policy directive principle of a uniform civil code.
This comes after CM Sarma on May 9 announced that his government has decided to ban polygamy in the state and a committee will be formed to examine if banning the practice of polygamy by Muslim men falls under the purview of the state government. The committee, according to the Assam government, would undertake extensive discussions with all stakeholders, including legal experts, to arrive at a well-informed decision.