The Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Tuesday passed the Uniform Civil Code Bill to ban polygamy and introduce strict conditions for live-in relationships.

Adivasi communities have been exempted from the bill to safeguard their customs and traditions.

The Uniform Civil Code aims to introduce a common set of laws governing marriage, divorce, succession and adoption for all citizens. Currently, such personal affairs of different religions are based on community-specific laws, largely derived from religious scripture.

The bill had been introduced in the Assembly by the Bharatiya Janata Party government on Monday. It was passed a day later through a voice vote.

With this, Madhya Pradesh became the fourth BJP-ruled state to pass a Uniform Civil Code bill.

On Tuesday, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav began his remarks on the bill with the slogan “Jai Shri Ram”. He also said that only those who speak for the welfare of Hindus will rule Madhya Pradesh.

Congress MLAs opposed the legislation and demanded that it be sent to a select committee for review, The Hindu reported.

During the discussion, Yadav said that the Opposition party was trying to appease the Muslim community and accused its legislators of being “anti-tribal”.

Congress MLA Arif Masood had said that the Uniform Civil Code Bill had been brought “only to trouble” the Muslim community, reported The Hindu.

Describing the bill as “unconstitutional”, Masood alleged that his “valid points” against the legislation were not sent to the select committee.

Key provisions of the bill

The bill proposes to ban polygamy and declares practices such as triple talaq and nikah halala as illegal and punishable.

Triple talaq allows a Muslim man to divorce his wife by pronouncing “talaq” three times. In 2017, the Supreme Court held the practice of instant triple talaq to be unconstitutional.

Nikah halala is a practice that allows a divorced Muslim woman to remarry her husband. According to Islamic law, a Muslim man can divorce and remarry a woman twice. However, if the man dissolves the marriage for the third time, he can remarry the same woman if she first marries another man, consummates the marriage, and if that man dies or willingly asks for divorce.

The bill also seeks to make it mandatory for live-in couples to submit an affidavit to the local registrar within a month of entering into such a relationship. Legal action could be taken if the couple violates the provision.

The bill proposes that if either partner in a live-in relationship is below the age of 21, their parents or guardians will be informed, and records will be shared with the police.

A married person who gets into a live-in relationship would be liable for a punishment of up to five years in jail.

BJP and UCC

Introducing a common personal law has for long been on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s agenda and several states ruled by the party have been making advances towards implementing it.

In January 2025, BJP-ruled Uttarakhand became the first state to implement the Uniform Civil Code after independence. The Gujarat Assembly cleared a similar legislation in March amid protests by the Opposition. A common civil code has been in place in Goa since the Portuguese Civil Code was adopted in 1867.

The Assam Assembly on May 27 passed the Uniform Civil Code bill seeking to ban polygamy and make the registration of live-in relationships compulsory. The Opposition had demanded that the bill be sent to a select committee for scrutiny.

Written by Anamika Pathak. Edited by Sneha.

Also read: ‘Women’s rights’ are a convenient cover for UCC’s intrusive provisions