Assam Cabinet Clears Compulsory Muslim Marriage Registration Rules

The Assam Cabinet has approved a new set of rules making the registration of Muslim marriages compulsory across the state, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said after chairing the meeting.

The Assam Muslim Marriage Registration (Compulsory) Rules, 2026, he said, create a uniform procedural framework for mandatory registration. "From now on, Muslim marriages will be registered by registrars," Sarma told a press conference.

The Chief Minister said that if applications rise, additional officers would be appointed as registrars in phases so that people do not face difficulties in registering their marriages.

The new rules build on the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Act, 2024, and replace a 1935 law that had provided for voluntary registration, although a 2010 amendment had made it compulsory. Sarma noted that an earlier government decision had barred kazis from registering Muslim marriages but had not specified an alternative forum.

The 2024 legislation removed any provision for the marriage of minors, fixing the minimum age at 18 for women and 21 for men. It also moved the registration process away from licensed Muslim registrars, or kazis, to government registration officials, making marriage registration a formal state process.

Under the Act, applications require proof of identity, age and residence, along with declarations by the couple. The law provides for a public notice and a 30-day objection period, and sets conditions relating to legal age, free consent and prohibited relationships.

Sarma said the measure is intended to ensure that Muslim marriages are properly recorded through the government's registration system.