Karnataka High Court: Wife’s Consent Doesn’t Make Bigamy Legal
The Karnataka High Court has ruled that bigamy is a crime, even if the first wife agrees to her husband’s second marriage. The court said that consent from the wife does not make bigamy legal under Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The case involved a 76-year-old man who had three wives. His first marriage was in 1968, and then in 1972-73, he married his wife’s sister with her consent. In 1993, he married a third woman, again claiming that both previous wives agreed.
Years later, in 2018, the man’s first wife filed a criminal complaint under Section 494 IPC (bigamy), Section 109 IPC (abetment), and Section 34 IPC (common intent). She also filed a domestic violence case the next day.
The man and his third wife tried to stop the legal proceedings, saying all the marriages were known and accepted by the wives. They claimed the complaint was delayed by 25 years.
However, the first wife argued that she did not know about the third marriage. She said that hiding the fact that he was already married and marrying again amounts to bigamy, and delay in such cases doesn’t matter because bigamy is a continuing offense.
The High Court agreed with her, saying:
“Even today, the man accepts he has three wives. This clearly shows that he committed bigamy while his first marriage was still valid.”
The court added that other family members (Petitioner Nos. 3 to 6) cannot be dragged into the case unless there’s proof they helped with the second or third marriage. Since there was no such evidence, proceedings against them were quashed.
However, the court dismissed the main petition and ruled that the criminal case against the man and his third wife would continue.
Case Title: ANAND C. @ ANKU GOWDA & Others v. CHANDRAMMA
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