New Delhi: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Monday announced he is going to end polygamy in Assam. The state government is going to table a bill on 25 November in the Assembly. It also proposes a jail term of seven years for those marrying “illegally” for the second time.

While the Indian Penal Code (IPC) criminalises bigamy under section 494, polygamy continues to be practiced across communities. Muslims are the only community in India allowed to practice polygamy legally, under section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937. But it has a condition that all the parties entering the polygamous relationship should be Muslims.

“If a person marries another woman without legally divorcing his wife, then there will be provision of seven years or more imprisonment irr

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