Assam's 2026 Uniform Civil Code requires cohabiting couples to register their live-in relationship with the district registrar within 30 days. Failing to notify the government that you chose not to get married is punishable by up to three months in prison and a Rs 10,000 fine.
The Uniform Civil Code, Assam, 2026 Bill — tabled in the Assam legislative assembly on May 25, 2026 — makes the registration of live-in relationships mandatory within 30 days of commencement, with non-compliance punishable by up to three months imprisonment and a Rs 10,000 fine. The bill also bans polygamy (up to 7 years imprisonment) and requires marriages and divorces to be registered within 60 days under the same penalty. Scheduled Tribes are exempt from all provisions. The government's stated purpose is protecting the rights of live-in partners, which it intends to achieve by making the couple's living arrangements a matter of government record subject to prosecution. The bill effectively criminalizes the paperwork deficit of your romantic life. India now has a state in which choosing to live together without marriage, and then not filling out a form about it within a month, is a jailable offense. Bureaucracy has entered the bedroom, and it requires a receipt.