In India, the general rule is that most people are banned and can’t go for options like polygamy, according to the Indian Penal Code (IPC). So yes, it is illegal in India right now. In particular, the IPC’s section 494 confirms that should anyone marry another person, while his/her current spouse is still alive, the second marriage will be null and void. This means that the second marriage is not recognized in law, simple as that. In addition to this, those who indulge in this kind of marriage can be sentenced to seven years of jail time along with a huge fine.
Religious Exceptions and Specific Laws
Although this might sound a bit weird and unfair on the surface, India’s legal system clearly shows a recognition of the common personal laws of various religions making it difficult to apply.
For instance, the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 is very prohibitive of the polygamy of Hindus as well as of Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs. Therefore, under the provisions of this Act, any second marriage contracted in the lifetime of the first spouse is both illegal as well as punishable by the IPC.
In contrast, in accordance with the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, Muslim men are allowed to have four wives simultaneously, thus permitting them to practice polygamy. This aspect of Muslim personal law is however undergoing great debate and scrutiny, and if you live in India, you’d know what we are talking about.
It is also interesting to note that the Christian and Parsi communities are as much governed by their own personal laws as they are by the Indian Christian Marriage Act of 1872 and the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act of 1936, which both state polygamy as illegal.
Are There Any State-Specific Laws Regarding Polygamy In India?
Without a doubt, recently, some states in the country have gone on to strengthen and make the laws even stricter for things like polygamy, want a specific example of that? Well, one particular law that has been put in place by the government, for example, in the state of Assam, is that men and women who work for the government must get prior consent from the government to marry a second time, regardless of whether their faith is a minority or majority group. Thus, in general terms, this has led to many people being more selective about choosing their partners which is not the same everywhere in the country, especially in those areas where Muslims have a bulk of the population.
