Aizawl: The Mizoram Legislative Assembly on Tuesday unanimously cleared a bill amending the 2014 Mizo Marriage, Divorce and Inheritance of Property Act, seeking to formally codify customary practices governing marriage, divorce and inheritance in the state.
The bill was tabled by Chief Minister Lalduhoma in his role as Minister for Law and Judicial Affairs. The revised legislation brings significant changes to traditional norms, particularly in relation to polygamy, inter-community marriages and the property rights of women.
A key feature of the new law is the explicit prohibition of polygamy and bigamy, along with strengthened safeguards for women’s financial rights following separation. Lalduhoma said the amended provisions clearly bar any individual from entering into another marriage while a legally valid marriage is still subsisting.
He added that individuals seeking to remarry after divorce must now furnish an official divorce certificate to establish that their earlier marriage has been legally dissolved.
The chief minister noted that the amendment brings state legislation in line with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which criminalises bigamy and polygamy at the national level.
While the earlier Act covered both Mizo men and women, including those who married outside the community, the amended law excludes Mizo women who marry non-Mizos from its purview.
Lalduhoma explained that a Mizo woman marrying outside the community would relinquish her Mizo identity, and her children would not qualify for Scheduled Tribe status, thereby placing them outside the scope of the Act.
Addressing concerns about women’s economic vulnerability, the chief minister said the changes aim to prevent misuse of customary practices. Under the previous law, a woman could reclaim only the dowry she had brought into the marriage in cases of divorce or separation following “Sum Chhuah” (return of the bride price). The amendment now entitles women to claim up to 50 per cent of assets and properties jointly acquired during the marriage upon divorce or Sum Chhuah.
In another significant revision, “leprosy” has been removed as a valid ground for divorce. Lalduhoma said marriage vows imply commitment “for better or for worse,” and since leprosy is regarded as a misfortune rather than wrongdoing, it should not justify dissolution of marriage.
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The amended law will be known as the “Mizo Marriage and Inheritance of Property (Amendment) Act” and will apply across Mizoram, except in areas governed by the three Autonomous District Councils in the southern part of the state, where separate customary laws remain in force, he added.
