HC defends Section 494 on bigamy

Says it is not discriminatory

February 26, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:42 am IST - KOCHI:

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday dismissed a public interest petition seeking to register a crime under Section 494 of Indian Penal Code for bigamy, irrespective of the religion to which the offender belonged.

The Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice A.M. Shaffique, while dismissing the plea, held that Section 494 of IPC (Marrying again during lifetime of husband or wife) did not discriminate among offenders belonging to Hindu and Muslim or Christians when it comes to registering a case for the offence of bigamy.

The petition was filed by K. Venugopal of Thrissur. He said Section 494 did not distinguish between Hindu and Muslim or Christian when it came to bigamy. According to him, under the Muslim law a person who had a number of wives would not be prosecuted for bigamy but a Hindu who had a second wife was prosecuted for bigamy. This was discrimination.

The court observed that a Muslim man could marry four women under the Muslim personal law and if he married a fifth wife, he could very well be prosecuted under Section 494. Similarly, a Muslim woman marrying for a second time can be prosecuted under Section 494. However, the Hindu Marriage Act prescribed punishment for bigamy, the court noted. The statutory authorities like the police kept silent when it comes to registering a case under Section 494 in respect of certain classes of people on the ground of personal law, the petitioner said.

Petitioner wants Section 494 made applicable to all

Alleges discrimination on ground of personal laws

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