BIGAMY UNDER PERSONAL LAWS
“Bigamy is the only crime where two rights make a wrong” ….. Bob Hope
BIGAMY UNDER PERSONAL LAWS
In cultures where monogamy is expected, bigamy is the practice of being married while continuing legally associated with another person. Their separation, whether it be formal or informal, has no bearing on the couple's status as married people. De facto or cohabitation relationships, as well as partnerships that begin while a couple is still legally married, are exempt from bigamy laws. The couple is no longer legally married and able to get married again without breaking any bigamy laws if the prior marriage is deemed null and void for any reason.
According to Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, bigamy is a non-cognizable and bailable offence (Act no. 45 of 1860). According to the legislation, the first marriage must be valid. There should have been a second marriage. There must be a first marriage. The partner must be still alive. As the foundation of the section, both marriages should be noted.
BIGAMY: TRACING THE ORIGIN
Since ancient times, bigamy has been condemned by many religions. To increase their realm or their connections to other kings, it was historically normal for a Monarch to wed multiple women. The size and diversity of India are impressive. People from various castes, religions, and philosophical perspectives make up this group. People of various religions are so subject to personal laws.
Although the Indian Penal Code is the main legislation in India that forbids bigamy, a person cannot be found guilty of the crime of bigamy if their own laws do not clearly identify punishment for bigamy or declare it unlawful. One of the primary sources for the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, the Manu smriti, has sections that unmistakably imply that a second marriage was permissible when a wife was infertile, ill, or vicious enough to be replaced. But only the first, matrimonially wedded wife, not the latter woman, would be regarded as a wife. In a stricter sense, the first wife came before the second, and her first-born child came before the husband's other sons.
BIGAMY AND RELEVANT LAWS
Hindu Marriage Act, 1955: -The types of people and religions protected by this Act are described in Section 1 of Subsections (a), (b), and (c). As a result, Section 17 of the Hindu Marriage Act imposes punishments under the Indian Penal Code on anyone who is deemed Hindu under Section 1 and marries again while the previous husband or wife is still alive...
Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872 – Bigamy is not mentioned in the Christian Marriage Act, but only bachelors, spinsters, and widows are eligible to use the Form of Register Marriage. Making a false oath or declaration is punished under Section 193 of the IPC, which clarifies that many weddings will be regarded as invalid under this act. Section 60(2) of the Marriage Certificate specifies that "neither of the individuals wishing to marry shall have a wife or husband still living."
Special Marriage Act, 1954– The Indian Penal Code's Sections 494 and 495 are invoked in Section 44 of this act to specify the punishment for bigamy.
Foreign Marriage Act 1969- The Indian Penal Code's Sections 494 and 495 are used to prosecute bigamy under Section 19 of this act.
Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936: - The Indian Penal Code's Sections 494 and 495 are complied with by this act's Section 5, which proclaims bigamy to be illegal, dissolves it, and imposes a penalty.
Muslim Marriage Law– Both the said law's codification and its specific clauses lack. The Quran states that a Muslim man is only permitted to marry once, twice, three times, or four times if he can treat and respect each wife equally after marriage. A person who violates the Hindu Marriage Act, Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, Christian Marriage Act, Special Marriage Act, or Foreign Marriage Act by being married more than once will be penalized in accordance with the Indian Penal Code. Additionally, any Muslim male who commits bigamy is not considered invalid by Muslim Marriage Law and does not violate any laws. Also, any Muslim male who marries more than once is not breaking the law, hence bigamy is not a crime.
STATUS IN QUO
As said, all religions, apart from Islam and Mohammedans, have laws against bigamy. The Indian Criminal Code and personal laws are both gender-neutral when it comes to the punishment for having a second spouse while the first one is still alive.
No legal rights exist for the second wife. In actuality, the second marriage is regarded as void. When a marriage is deemed invalid, the women suffer considerably. The second spouse is not given any special rights, but she has several grounds to sue her husband, including infidelity.
According to Section 495 of the IPC, anyone who marries someone without reporting the knowledge of their second marriage gets up to ten years in prison and a fine.
The Supreme Court declared in Sarala Mudgal v. Union of India & Or's. that "a marriage solemnized under a certain statute and pursuant to personal law could not be dissolved under another personal law just because one of the spouses had changed his or her faith." Additionally, it declares that Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code nullifies a Hindu husband's second marriage after he converts to Islam. The Court also ruled that the courts could be persuaded to follow a legal interpretation that would deny the Hindu husband who converted to Islam the ability to remarry without having his first marriage legally annulled.
In the case of Dhanulal and Or’s. v. Ganesh Ram and Or’s., the court ruled that "where it is proved that man and woman have lived together as husband and wife, the law will presume, unless the contrary is clearly proved, that they were living together as a result of a valid marriage and not in a state of concubinage."
An individual must abide by Parsi marriage law even after converting to a different religion, hence any Parsi who marries again will be ineligible under the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act. A person who gets married under the Muslim Marriage Act or the Special Marriage Act breaches personal law and may face bigamy charges.
CONCLUSION
The crime of bigamy is the union of two people who are already formally wed. Bigamy is defined in Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The clause states that anyone who legally weds a live spouse and marries someone else while doing so shall be penalized by imprisonment of either sort for a term that may not exceed seven years as well as a fine. Additionally, such a marriage shall be regarded null and void in all respects. The vice of concealment is added to the bigamy offence in Section 495 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
A person violates Section 495 when they conceal their first marriage from the person they marry again, committing bigamy. The Indian Penal Code of 1860 is necessary to prohibit people from using religious conversion as a license to commit bigamy because it is crucial to have severe regulations in place to prevent and punish bigamy.
Although while bigamy is illegal and punishable under the Penal Code, whether it is good for the community or not ultimately depends on individual laws. It is acceptable for that community, such as Muslims, to engage in the behavior if personal law enables it. When a second marriage is forbidden by the law, the previous marriage is practically disowned.
Yet, as bigamy is the incriminated act, it is imperative to put the Mali-math Committee's suggestion for a consistent civil code into practice to lessen bigamy...
REFERENCES –
1. https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-2438-bigamy-as-an-offense-in-india.html
2. https://www.iralr.in/post/bigamous-hindu-marriages-a-critical-analysis
3. https://www.lawinsider.in/columns/bigamy-a-concept-indias-stand-on-it
4. https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2016/10/19/law-for-laymen-s-494-ipc-bigamy/
5. https://blog.ipleaders.in/tradition-modernity-examination-bigamy-hindu-marriage-act-1955/
6. https://taxguru.in/corporate-law/bigamy-punishable-offence-india.html
7. https://www.writinglaw.com/what-is-bigamy-under-indian-laws/