The Calcutta High Court has clarified that the offence of bigamy under Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is applicable only to a husband who marries a second time during the lifetime of his first wife, and not to his second wife.
The Court quashed the criminal proceedings filed against the second wife, who had been accused under Sections 498A, 494, 406, and 506 of the IPC, along with Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.
Justice Shampa Dutt (Paul), while delivering the judgment, observed that Section 494 IPC is clear in its scope and language. It applies only to the husband who remarries while still in a valid marriage, and not to the woman he marries as his second wife.
The case arose from a complaint by the first wife, who alleged that her husband and his family demanded dowry, subjected her to harassment, and that her husband later married another woman and lived with her as his wife. Based on this complaint, criminal proceedings were initiated against both the husband and his second wife.
The second wife challenged the charges, stating that she was neither related to the complainant’s husband nor responsible for the alleged acts of cruelty or dowry demand. The Court agreed, noting that the offence of bigamy under Section 494 IPC is directed only at the person who contracts a second marriage during the subsistence of the first.
The Bench further held that the allegations under Sections 498A, 406, and 506 IPC were also not applicable to the second wife, as the essential ingredients of these offences were missing in her case.
As a result, the Calcutta High Court allowed the criminal revision and quashed the proceedings against the petitioner (the second wife).
Cause Title: S v. State of West Bengal & Anr
Be a part our social media community:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IndianMan.in?mibextid=ZbWKwL
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/indianman.in?igsh=MWZ2N3N0ZmpwM3l3cw==
