The presence of bigamy in India can be traced back to ancient times when the warrior sects and rich

merchants had more than two living wives

at the same time. This was done due to many reasons such as the expansion of ruling territory, for sealing peace pacts, for increasing the
exchequer of the territory, etc. The rule of marriage however was always based on the concept of monogamy since the period of Manusmriti
but with the exception of polygamous marriages.

The texts from Manusmriti, which is one of the primary sources of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 distinctly mention that if the wife is suffering
from some disease, or if she cannot give birth to a child, or of such vicious nature that she could be superseded then the husband of such wife
can marry another woman i.e, the second marriage will be considered legally valid. The condition however is that the first wife shall always be
superior to the second wife and the first-born son of the first wife shall have primacy over the other sons of such husband. However, with the
advent of British rule in India, the law was altered wherein a Hindu male who is already married once may marry again without any justification
or the consent of his wife.

As time passed by, the personal laws of various religions were being given primary importance which in turn had several provisions that
declared bigamy an offence. The laws such as the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act (1936), Bombay Prevention of Hindu Bigamous Marriage Act
(1946) and the Madras Hindu Bigamy (Prevention and Divorce) Act (1949) were the first among the several laws which recognized and penalized
the offence of bigamy.

The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, make” monogamy the mandate for all Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs. If a Hindu male marries another
woman during the existence of his first wife, he shall be liable under Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

S. 5 of HMA

The provision consists of five conditions that are to be followed to solemnize a marriage between two Hindus.

---The parties involved in marriage must not be having a living spouse at the time of his, or her marriage

S.17 of HMA

Any marriage between two Hindus solemnized after the commencement of this Act is void if at the date of such marriage either party had a
husband or wife living; and the provisions of sections 494 and 495 of the Indian Penal Code

Similarly, as per the Special Marriage Act, 1954, any marriage that is solemnized as per the provisions and the conditions of the said Act would
be prohibited from taking the form of bigamy.

S.4 of Special marriage act

Neither party has a spouse living.

When it comes to the personal law of Muslims i.e, the Sharia law the practice of polygamy is legally allowed however the practice of polyandry
is strictly prohibited. The Holy Quran governs all Muslims and the same states that a Muslim male may marry up to four women at the same
time however he must be able to maintain and take care of them. Therefore, it can be understood that Islam does not prohibit bigamy.

IPC {S.494}

The Indian Penal Code, 1860 explains bigamy under Section 494. The said provision states that any person who already has a wife or husband
living, further proceeds to marry another person while being lawfully wedded to such wife or husband shall be punished with imprisonment of
either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine. Moreover, such marriage shall be considered void
in whatsoever case.

There are certain exceptions to the aforementioned provision wherein the person who marries another individual shall not be liable for bigamy.
The exceptions are as follows

1.) The said provision does not extend to any individual whose marriage with their partner from the prior marriage has been declared
void by a court of competent jurisdiction.
2.) The said provision does not extend to any individual who contracts a marriage during the lifetime of their former partner wherein
such partner at the time of such individual’s second marriage was not heard of for a period of seven years or wherein there is no
information of them being alive. By virtue of presumption provided under Section 108 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, it may be
concluded that a person who has been missing for more than seven years is presumed to be dead and that when the individual
contracts a second marriage, it shall be understood that no husband or wife is living at the time of the second marriage and thus, the
offence of bigamy is not constituted. The condition that is inclusive of this exception is that the individual contracting the second
marriage must, before the second marriage takes place, inform the person they are about to marry about the facts to the best of
their knowledge regarding their previous partner.

{ S.495}
Section 495 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 further talks about the offence of bigamy but with the addition of the vice of concealment. When an
individual does the act of bigamy by concealing the fact of their former marriage from the person with whom they contract their second
marriage then such individual shall be liable under Section 495. Such individuals shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a
term which may extend up to ten years and shall be liable to fine or both. In addition to this, a complaint about cheating can be filed under
Section 415 of IPC in case the individual conceals the fact of first marriage

Live-in relationships and bigamy

Live-in relationships have been considered taboo in Indian society for a long time and the main factors for the non-acceptance of such
relationships are the lack of legal recognition, pre-marital sex and illegitimate children. But the main question here is whether the anti-bigamy
laws apply to live-in relationships or not. The offence of bigamy does not extend to live-in relationships because there is no presence of a legally
valid marriage contracted between the two parties.

The Supreme Court In the case of Khushboo v. Kanniammal & Anr (2010) opined that when a man and woman live together without marriage, it
cannot be considered as an offence. The Apex Court had also held that there was no law that prohibits or restricts live-in relationships or pre-
marital sex.

Further, in the case of Tulsi v. Durghatiya & Ors (2008), it was held that the children born out of live-in relationships are not to be treated as
illegitimate. However, there are certain conditions such as the parents must have cohabited for a considerable amount of time under one roof
so that the society recognizes them as husband and wife i.e, there is a presumption of marriage between such couple. Another important case
when it comes to live-in relationships is the case of Rameshchandra Daga v. Rameshwari Daga (2004) which recognized and upheld the
maintenance rights of the women who are tied in invalid marriages or other such informal relationships.