Aizawl: A court-issued divorce certificate will be mandatory for anyone seeking to remarry after separation from a spouse under Mizoram’s amended marriage law, the Review Committee on Mizo Marriage and Inheritance of Property said on Thursday.
The committee, chaired by Law and Judicial Department Additional Secretary Zahmingthanga Ralte, reviewed customary practices and provisions under the Mizo Marriage & Inheritance of Property (Amendment) Act, 2026, enacted by the state Assembly in February.
The committee said the responsibility of verifying the divorce certificate would lie with the person solemnising the marriage. A person who remarries without producing the certificate could face imprisonment of seven to 10 years, depending on the circumstances, it said.
The committee urged those planning or arranging such marriages to exercise caution.
It also asked churches to replace the word “Divorce” in marriage certificates with the wording “In accordance with the Mizo Marriage & Inheritance of Property Act, 2014.”
The committee also reviewed customary marriage payments, including Thian Man (bride’s friends’ price), Nuta Man (bride’s siblings’ price) and Nu Man (bride’s mother’s price).
It favoured retaining the broader practice of Thian Man, citing traditional customs and references including Perry Sap’s A Monograph on Lushai Customs & Ceremonies and Mizo Hnam Dan 2006. At the same time, it urged people to discontinue Nuta Man, which it described as a relatively new practice.
On Nu Man, the committee said the payment should be received only by the biological mother who gave birth to the child, subject to specified customary conditions, and not by others.
Representatives of the government, churches, civil society organisations, the Mizoram Women Commission, Mizoram University and other experts attended the meeting.