The Assam government has decided to repeal the Assam Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act-1935, in a step the authorities said was aimed at curbing child marriage.

The decision to repeal the British era law was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet on Friday.

An official statement said that the Assam Muslim Marriage and Registration Act of 1935 “is an obsolete Pre-Independence Act of the British for the then province of Assam.”

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, shortly after midnight, Assam Chief Minister (CM) Himanta Biswa Sarma said “On 23.2.2024, the Assam cabinet made a significant decision to repeal the age-old Assam Muslim Marriages & Divorces Registration Act. This Act contained provisions allowing marriage registration even if the bride and groom had not reached the legal ages of 18 and 21, as required by law. This move marks another significant step towards prohibiting child marriages in Assam.”

The repeal of the 1935 law is widely seen as a precursor to ushering in a uniform civil code, a fortnight after the legislative assembly of another BJP-governed state Uttarakhand passed a uniform civil code Bill making it the first state of India to approve UCC.

Assam’s Tourism Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah said the decision to withdraw the 1935 Act was “a very important step in the journey towards a uniform civil code” in the state.

According to the 2011 Census, Muslims constitute 34 percent of Assam’s population, that is 1.06 crore out of a total population of 3.12 crore.

The Assam government had cracked down against child marriage last year when over 4,000 people were arrested.

After repealing the law, the Assam government said district commissioners and district registrars will take custody of registration records held by 94 Muslim Marriage Registrars.

The government will provide a one-time compensation of 2 lakh rupees each to Muslim Marriage Registrars for their rehabilitation after the Act is repealed.