Supreme Court Sentences Couple to 6 Months Jail for Bigamy, Allows Alternate Jail Time
On July 15, the Supreme Court of India sentenced a woman and her second husband to six months in jail each for committing bigamy. However, considering they have a six-year-old child, the Court made a special arrangement — they will serve their jail terms one after the other so the child will always have one parent at home.
The case was brought to the Supreme Court by the woman’s first husband. He objected to a previous decision by the Madras High Court in August 2022, which gave the couple a very light punishment — jail “till the rising of the court.” The Supreme Court felt that this sentence was far too lenient for such a serious crime.
The Court stressed that punishments must match the seriousness of the crime. It said that giving light sentences for crimes like bigamy sends the wrong message to society. According to the Court, punishment should consider how serious the offense is and not be influenced just because the incident happened a long time ago.
The Court also said that justice should be fair not just for the people involved, but for society as a whole. It noted that Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code allows a sentence of up to seven years for bigamy. Under the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which replaced the IPC on July 1, this provision is now found under Section 82.
The Supreme Court found it important that the woman received alimony from her first husband just two months before having a child with her second husband. The Court noted that this showed disrespect to the legal system and justified stronger punishment.
It was proven that the woman married another man while her first marriage was still legally valid and even had a child with him. The Court said that the earlier punishment was too soft and did not match the seriousness of the case.
So, the Court increased the sentence to six months in jail for both the woman and her second husband. But to protect the interests of their young child, the Court ordered that they take turns serving their jail terms. This way, one parent will always be available to care for the child.
The Court clearly stated that this special arrangement was made only for this case and should not be used as a rule in future cases.
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