Married Second Time While First Still Subsists, Madhya Pradesh HC Quashes Bigamy Charge Against Muslim Man
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh: The Madya Pradesh High Court recently quashed a bigamy charge levelled against a Muslim man for having married a second time while his first marriage was still enduring.
The court pointed out that a Muslim male is permitted to have more than one wife at a time, subject to the conditions recognized by the personal law under Muslim Personal Law.
While quashing the man of the charge, the court observed that the second marriage contracted by a Muslim man during the subsistence of his marriage to his first wife does not constitute the offence of bigamy under Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Justice BP Sharma reasoned that Section 494, IPC (now replaced by Section 82 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023) is subject to personal law. “The applicability of Section 494 IPC is subject to the personal law governing the parties. Under Muslim Personal Law, a Muslim male is permitted to have more than one wife at a time” the judge said.
