Himanta Biswa Sarma on Polygamy: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma made two important announcements regarding education and social reforms in the state assembly on Thursday. He told that the state government has started a new scheme for matriculation students, under which financial assistance of Rs 300 per month will be given to every student till the examinations. Along with this, the facility of free admission will also be provided to the students in colleges.

The Chief Minister gave a big statement regarding the Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill, 2025. He clearly said that now polygamy will be completely banned in the state and if a person tries to marry another after one marriage, he will be punished for 7 years. On the other hand, if a person marries a second child by hiding the details of his first marriage, he will be given a punishment of 10 years.

Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill 2025 passed

The Assam Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed the ‘Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill 2025’. Under this new law, polygamy will be considered a crime in the state and the culprits will have to face imprisonment of up to 10 years, fines and many other legal sanctions. According to the law, the guilty person will not get a government job, will not be able to contest civic elections and will not be able to avail the benefits of any state scheme. However, Scheduled Tribe (ST) category and areas covered under the Sixth Schedule have been kept out of the scope of this law.

There may be a punishment of 10 years

Polygamy has been defined in the bill as if a person marries a second time without legally ending his first marriage, it will be considered an offense and will be punishable with imprisonment of up to 7 years and fine. At the same time, if someone marries again by hiding his existing marriage, then there is a provision of 10 years of punishment for him. Apart from this, a provision of compensation of Rs 1.40 lakh has also been made to the victim. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that this bill is a historic step towards women’s safety and social reform, which will serve to give a strong social message in the state.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken major action in the case of a major government fund scam in Assam. Taking action, the Central Investigation Agency has seized movable and immovable properties of Assam government official Siwali Devi Sharma and her close relatives. The value of the seized properties is said to be around Rs 6.40 crore.

ED has taken this action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Let us tell you that this entire case is based on the FIR registered against Siwali Devi Sharma, which was registered by Vigilance Police Station Assam. He is accused of embezzling about Rs 105.76 crore by misusing government funds.

What was revealed in the ED investigation?
The ED investigation revealed that between 2017 and 2021, when Siwali Devi Sharma was the acting chairperson and director of ODL Cell, SCERT, Assam, she opened 347 study centers without the approval of the government and gave admission to 1,06,828 trainees. Whereas the government had approved only 59 study centers and 27,897 trainees.

According to ED’s investigation, Siwali Devi and her associates collected approximately Rs 115 crore as fees from these fake filings. It is alleged that he opened five bank accounts in the name of ODL Cell and did not deposit the amount in the government treasury.

ED seized many properties
ED investigation also revealed that Siwali Devi Sharma herself transferred all the funds despite not having financial authority. Siwali Devi Sharma transferred this money to her and her family’s accounts and then with this money, land, property and other assets were purchased. Now ED has temporarily attached these properties. The agency’s investigation is still ongoing.

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Adani group on assam government land allotment reports: It was reported in several media reports that the Assam government has given 3000 bighas of land in Dima Hasao to the Adani Group for the cement plant. It has been described by the Adani Group, it has been described as baseless and without facts.

The Adani Group issued a statement on 18 August 2025, saying that some news reports, social media posts and court hearing video clips are being circulated, claiming that the Assam government has allocated 3000 bighas of land in Dima Hasao for cement plant.

In the statement, the Adani Group further said that such reports are false and confusing without any facts. It is wrong to add the name of Adani Group with Mahabal Cement. Mahabal cement has no relation with the Adani group in any way.

The statement further said that they appeal to media members and digital platforms to check the facts before sharing any such claim.

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The Supreme Court has refused to hear the petition filed against the policy of the Assam government to deport people by calling people to Bangladesh. The Supreme Court has said that the petitioners should go to the High Court. A petitioner caused personal pain in the Supreme Court and said that perhaps his mother has been sent to Bangladesh suddenly without proper procedure. He does not know where the mother is. The court spoke about the hearing on this petition next week.

On May 30, a man named Yunus Ali had filed a petition in front of the bench of Chief Justice Bhushan Ramakrishna Gavai, Justice Augustine George Christ and Justice AS Chandurkar, saying that his mother had been illegally detained by the Assam Police. On the arguments of Yunus Ali’s lawyer Shoaib Alam, the Supreme Court gave the date of June 2 for hearing. Yunus Ali requested for the early release of his mother Monovara.

The petitioner alleges that on May 24, his mother was called to the Dhubri police station on the pretext of recording the statement and then taken into custody. During this time, Advocate Shoaib Alam also expressed concern that people are detained in the state and Bangladesh is deported overnight, while their legal cases are pending.

The lawyer told the court that a special permission petition (SLP) was filed by Yunus Ali’s mother in 2017, on which notices were issued, but still people are being deported while the hearing in this court is still going on.

He said that many such videos are being broadcast, in which it is shown that people were caught overnight and sent across the border. Monovara was on bail from December 12, 2019 following an order of the Supreme Court in the case, in which the prisoners who spent more than three years in the foreign custody of Assam were allowed to be conditionally released.

The petitioner says that when he went to the police station the next day, he told the officials that his case is still pending in the Supreme Court, he was not allowed to meet his mother and his release was also denied. The petition challenged the decision of the Guwahati High Court, which upheld the decision of the foreign tribunal declaring Monovara as foreign.