The Assam Cabinet has announced that moving forward, Muslim marriages in the state will be registered exclusively by government sub-registrars, effectively removing Qazis from the official registration process.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma made this announcement on Wednesday.
“Muslim marriages were previously registered by Qazis, but this practice was discontinued through a recent ordinance. Now, we have decided to introduce legislation that requires all Muslim marriages to be registered solely by a sub-registrar,” CM Sarma explained.
He clarified that this change impacts only the legal registration process, leaving traditional marriage rituals unaffected. “Our bill does not interfere with the cultural practices of any community. Traditional rituals, whether Hindu or Muslim, will remain untouched,” Sarma added.
The proposed law also includes a provision barring the registration of marriages involving Muslim minors, specifically prohibiting the registration of marriages for boys under 21 and girls under 18.
In other developments, the Assam Cabinet has decided to expand the Orunoday scheme, a major welfare program.
CM Sarma noted that a recent survey conducted in preparation for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections revealed that approximately 10 lakh women in the state were not benefiting from the Orunoday scheme.
Consequently, the government has decided to include 12,60,000 new beneficiaries, aiming to add at least 10,000 new recipients in each assembly segment across the state.