Guwahati, May 27 -- Assam Assembly on Wednesday passed a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill after a marathon debate between the BJP-led NDA and the opposition parties. The bill seeks to establish a single civil legal framework to govern marriage, divorce, succession and live-in relationships irrespective of religion.

With this, Assam has become the first state in the Northeast and the third Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled state in the country to pass such legislation, after Uttarakhand and Gujarat. Though Goa also has common civil law since the Portuguese colonial rule.

The bill prohibits polygamy, while setting a standardised legal age of 21 years for grooms and 18 years for brides. It proposes mandatory registration of marriages and liv...