The Supreme Court has sentenced a woman and her second husband to six months in jail each for committing bigamy. However, considering the couple has a six-year-old child, the court allowed them to serve their jail terms alternately so that one parent can always remain with the child.
The case was filed by the woman’s first husband, who challenged a 2022 Madras High Court order that had sentenced the couple only till the “rising of the court.” The Supreme Court described that punishment as a “flea-bite sentence” and held it was too lenient for such a serious offence.
The bench observed that bigamy is a grave crime, and a proportionate punishment is necessary to maintain faith in the legal system. It stressed that leniency in such matters can harm society and undermine justice.
The court also pointed out that Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code (now retained as Section 82 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita) allows a maximum punishment of seven years. It noted that the woman continued to receive alimony from her first husband even while living with her second husband and later gave birth to a child from the second marriage.
Calling the earlier punishment “unjustifiably lenient,” the Supreme Court enhanced the sentence to six months’ imprisonment each. To protect the child’s welfare, the bench ordered that the jail term be served one after the other by the woman and her second husband.
The court clarified that this arrangement was made only in this case and should not be considered a precedent.
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