The Assam Assembly on Thursday (November 27, 2025) passed the Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill, 2025, aimed at penalising those who enter into a second marriage without legally dissolving the first. The proposed legislation was tabled in the 126-member House on November 25.
“We will reserve the Bill for the assent of President Droupadi Murmu. I do not think the Bill will be denied approval, as the President is a woman,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, pointing out that the Bill intends to protect women and compensate victims of polygamy.
During the discussion on the Bill, he said the widespread belief that Islam inherently promotes polygamy was factually incorrect. Citing religious accounts, he said that Prophet Muhammad regulated the practice of multiple marriages and limited it to a man keeping four wives under strict conditions.
“His line of thinking was not to promote polygamy but to curb excesses,” the Chief Minister said, insisting that under Islamic law, a man cannot take a second wife without the explicit consent of the first.
“Minus the consent, a second marriage is not legally valid in Islam,” he told the House.
