Offences Relating To Marriage

Offences relating to marriage (Ss.
493-498)
Offences relating to marriage can be considered under the following four heads:
1. Mock marriages (Sec.493 and 496)
2. Bigamy (Sec. 494, 495,496)
3. Adultery (Sec. 497)
4. Criminal elopement (Sec. 498)
5. Cruelty by husband or relatives of husband (Sec. 498A)
1. Mock marriages
There are two provisions related to mock or invalid marriages they are:
i. Section 493- Cohabitation or sexual intercourse caused by a man deceitfully
inducing a belief of lawful marriage.
 When a man dishonestly and fraudulently makes a woman believe that she is
lawfully married to him and to cohabit with him or have sexual intercourse with
him in that belief shall be punished.
 The commission of this offence is possibly when the woman is at least sixteen
years of age.
 If she is below that age, her consent is immaterial and cohabitation with her is
rape.
 If she is above that age, the accused may induce her to believe him as her lawful
married husband.
Punishment: Imprisonment for ten years and fine.
ii. Section 496- Dishonestly or fraudulently going through a marriage ceremony

knowing that no lawful marriage is thereby created.
Punishment: Imprisonment for seven years and fine.
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2. Bigamy
 It means marrying again during the lifetime of husband or wife.
 It is an offence under Section 494.
 Whoever having a husband or wife living enters into another marriage which is void by
reason of it taking place during the lifetime of the such husband or wife is guilty of
bigamy.
 If the first marriage is concealed from the person with whom the second marriage is
contracted, imprisonment for ten years and fine (Sec. 495). In other cases,
imprisonment for seven years and fine (Sec.494).
 The essential requirements are:

i. The accused must have been already married.
ii. Such marriage must be a valid marriage
iii. The first marriage is in existence at the time of second marriage
iv. The person whom he or she has married must be living
v. The accused must marry again another person.
 Exceptions: there are two exceptions to Section 494 by which the second marriage
will not be an offence they are:
i. The first marriage has been declared void by a competent court.
ii. Where the former spouse has been continually absent and not heard of being
alive for 7 years. Within that time the real state of facts must be disclosed to the
person with whom the second marriage is contracted.
 These exceptions are used by the accused as defenses in order to escape a conviction
on a charge of bigamy.
 If the first marriage is void marriage then both the parites to the marriage are free to
go through second marriage.
 In Santhosh Kumari v. Surjith Singh, 1990 Cri.L. J 1012, the accused wanted to marry
another woman with the permission of his first wife. Both the wife and husband
applied for the permission before the District Court. The Court granted the permission
accordingly. The proposed bride came to know about it and appealed before the High
Court. It was held that no Court is authorized to permit second marriage without
proper legal divorce. The application for the consent of the first wife is immaterial.
Therefore the permission of the District Court was quashed.

3. Adultery
 As per Section 497, a person is guilty of adultery if he:
i. Has sexual intercourse with a person
ii. Who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of another
man
iii. Without the consent or connivance of that man
iv. And such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape.
 Shall be punished with imprisonment or either description for a term which may
extend to 5 years or with fine or with both.
 Woman is not punished in adultery, only the male partner in adultery is punished. The
woman is exempted from punishment even as an abettor.
 The validity of this section was raised several times before the courts in the past and
the courts including the Supreme Court held Section 497 to be valid. But in the latest
case, the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra called the
adultery law "anti-women" while hearing a petition that challenged Section 497 for
being anti-men and giving leverage to women.
 Joseph Shine v. Union of India, Joseph shine a non-resident Keralite, filed public
interest litigation under article 32, of the Constitution. The petition challenged the
Constitutionality of the offence of Adultery under section 497., a 5 judge bench of
supreme Court Animously stuck down section 497 of Indian Penal Code as being
violative of Article 14,15,and 21 of Constitution. And held that Equality is the
governing principle of a system. Husband is not the master of the wife. Women must
be treated with equality. Any discrimination shall invite the wrath of Constitution.
Section 497 IPC which deals with Adultery is absolutely manifestly arbitrary.
 Hence, Mere adultery can't be a crime unless it attracts the scope of Section 306
(abetment to suicide) of the IPC.
 Adultery can be ground for civil issues including dissolution of marriage but it cannot
be a criminal offence.

4. Criminal Elopement – Seduction
 According to Section 498, taking or enticing any woman who is married or believed
to be married, from any person having the care of her, with the intention that she may
have illicit intercourse with any man constitutes the offence of seduction.
 Punishment- Imprisonment up to 2 years or fine or both.
 Essential ingredients are:
i. Taking or enticing away or concealing or detaining
ii. Any woman who is or is known or believed to be the wife of any other man.
iii. From that man or from any person having the care of her on behalf of that
man.
iv. With the intent that she may have illicit intercourse with any person.
 Here also the wife is not punished as an abetter.
 In Emp. v. Mahiji Fula, (1933) 35 Bom. L. R. 1046- court held that the word ‘detains’
means ‘keeps back’. Keeping back need not necessarily be by physical force, it may
be by persuation, allurement or blandishment. There should be something in the
nature of control or influence which can be properly be described as a keeping back of
the woman. Proof of some kind of persuasion is necessary.

5. Matrimonial cruelty
 Cruelty to woman by the husband or his relatives is an offence under Section 498A.
 Punishment- Imprisonment up to 3 years and fine.
 Cruelty means
i. any willful conduct which drives the woman-
 to commit suicide, or
 to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health
ii. harassment to the woman or her relatives to meet any unlawful demand for any
property or valuable security.
 Such cruelty is called Matrimonial cruelty.
 In Kalpana Srivastava v. Surendra AIR 1985All. 253- “Cruelty” is not confined to
physical cruelty. It includes as well mental cruelty.
 Section 113 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 provided that,
 If it was shown that soon before the death of the woman she was subjected to cruelty
or harassment by a person in connection with demand for dowry, then it shall be
presumed that such person who has harassed the woman had caused the death of the
woman.
 Section 304B deals with dowry death, it provides that where the death of a woman is
caused by any burns or bodily injury or occurs otherwise than under normal
circumstances within seven years of her marriage and it is shown that soon before her
death she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by a person in connection with
demand for dowry, such death shall be called ‘dowry death’, and such husband or
relative shall be deemed to have caused her death.

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Offences relating to marriage (Ss.

ii. Section 496- Dishonestly or fraudulently going through a marriage ceremony

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 The essential requirements are:

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