Second Wife Of Husband Can't Be Prosecuted For Bigamy Under Section 494 IPC: Chhattisgarh High Court

The Chhattisgarh High Court has reiterated that a person who is single and marries another whose marriage is substituting cannot be not liable under Section 494 IPC, but it is the person whose marriage is substituting who would be liable. Interpreting the provision of law, the Bench of Justice Arvind Kumar Verma held –“In the present case, it is not the case of the prosecution that this petitioner was already married by the time she married. A person who is single marrying another whose marriage is substituting is not liable under Section 494 IPC, but the person whose marriage is substituting would be liable. A bare perusal of the Section 494 of the IPC, it is crystal clear that the word used by the Legislature “whoever, having a husband or wife living” commits bigamy as provided therein, and in the later half to fix liability against the “such husband or wife”, expressing the intension of the Legislature to prosecute the erring husband/wife, as the case may be.”Section 494 (Marrying again during life-time of husband or wife) states that whoever, having a husband or wife living, marries in any case in which such marriage is void by reason of its taking place during the life of such husband or wife, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.In doing so the court said that the petitioner–who is the second wife of the accused-husband cannot be prosecuted for commission of offence under IPC Section 494 and quashed the proceedings against her.Case BackgroundThe marriage between the complainant and the accused-husband took place in the year 2006 and a baby girl was born out of their wedlock in 2009. Subsequently, the husband and his family members started torturing the complainant and eventually, ousted her from matrimonial home on the ground of second marriage of the husband.She came to know that her husband had entered into marriage with the petitioner in the month of May, 2011, without obtaining divorce from her. Thus, she went to the police station for lodging FIR, but in vain. Therefore, she filed a complaint case arraying the husband, the petitioner and two other persons as accused. On the basis of the said complaint, a criminal case under Section 498-A/494/34 of IPC was registered.Being aggrieved by such registration of criminal case, the petitioner approached the trial Court praying for her discharge from the prosecution by arguing that no case under Section 494, IPC could have been registered against her. However, such prayer was rejected by the Court below. Hence, she filed this petition seeking to quash the pending proceedings against her.It was contended on behalf of the petitioner that as per the provisions of law under Section 494, the second wife of the accused-husband cannot be prosecuted for the offence provided therein. Therefore, arraying the petitioner under such charges is an abuse of the process of law.Court's ObservationsHaving regard for the aforesaid facts, the vital question which cropped up for consideration was that whether a complaint under Section 494 of IPC is maintainable against the second wife of an erring husband.At the outset, the Court perused the language used in Section 494 and thus underlined that the petitioner was not already married at the time of her marriage with the accused-husband of the complainant. Thus, she cannot be held liable for the offence of bigamy. It further said that an unmarried person who marries a married person does not become susceptible for prosecution under the aforesaid provision, rather the married person is the one who ought to be prosecuted.It highlighted that the intention of the legislature was to prosecute the erring husband/wife who gets into a second marriage while his/her first marriage is still in subsistence. It does not seek to criminalise the action of the second spouse.Consequently, the Bench was of the considered view that the petitioner-second wife of the accused-husband cannot be prosecuted under Section 494, IPC. Accordingly, the pending criminal proceeding against the petitioner was quashed.Case Title: Dr. Manju Sinha v. Smt. Pyari Dadsena & Anr.Case No: CRMP No. 2197 of 2024Date of Judgment: January 24, 2025Counsel for the Petitioner: Mr. Sunil Sahu, AdvocateCounsel for the Respondents: Mr. S.P. Sahu, Advocate for Respondent No. 1; Ms. Laxmeen Kashyap, Panel Lawyer for the StateCitation: 2025 LiveLaw (Chh) 14Click Here To Read/Download Order

Second Wife Of Husband Can't Be Prosecuted For Bigamy Under Section 494 IPC: Chhattisgarh High Court

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