SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has ruled that a Muslim man’s second marriage cannot be treated as void under Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) just because his first marriage was still in existence.
Justice N Tukaramji passed the order and quashed bigamy proceedings against the man. The court found that the required conditions to attract Section 494 of the IPC were not established in the case.
High Court explains bigamy law
As per the High Court, Section 494 IPC requires certain conditions to be met. These include the existence of a living spouse, a valid and continuing first marriage, a second marriage and the second marriage being legally void because the first marriage was still in force.
The court noted that under the Muslim Personal Law, the continued existence of a first marriage does not by itself make a subsequent marriage by a man void.
The court referred to the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937.
First marriage had allegedly ended
The woman who filed the complaint had married the man on February 28, 2009, as per Muslim customs.
According to her complaint, her husband married another woman on May 24, 2015, while their first marriage was continuing.
In 2021, a case under Section 494 IPC was registered. Later, a chargesheet was filed.
On the other hand, the man’s lawyer, Khaja Vizarath Ali, argued that before the alleged second marriage, the first marriage was dissolved under Muslim Personal Law.
High Court finds key ingredient of Section 494 missing
The High Court examined the material collected during the investigation and found that it indicated that the first marriage had already been dissolved before the alleged second marriage.
The court further observed that even if the first marriage had continued, its mere existence would not automatically establish bigamy in the case of a Muslim man governed by Muslim Personal Law. The High Court concluded that the necessary ingredients of Section 494 IPC were not satisfied and quashed the bigamy proceedings against the Muslim man.
SOURCE : SIASAT
