Assam staffers face 20% pay cut for bigamy rules

Guwahati: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday that state administration employees entering a second marriage without a legal divorce or while their first wife is alive will face a 20% salary cut.

“If a government employee abandons his first wife without legally divorcing her and enters into an informal marriage with another woman, 20% of his salary will be deducted and deposited directly into the first wife’s account upon her application to the government,” Sarma said.

Sarma remarked he had come across a number of cases in which government employees left their wives without completing the divorce process and went on to live with or marry another woman. He said the salary deduction could continue until a court decides on the marital dispute.