The Bombay High Court has refused to quash a First Information Report (FIR) against an individual who contracted a second marriage while his first marriage was still in effect, stating that this could not only amount to bigamy but also potentially constitute the offense of rape.
In a judgment delivered on August 24, Justices Nitin Sambre and Rajesh Patil rejected a petition filed by a man who was charged by Pune police under Sections 376 (rape) and 494 (bigamy) of the Indian Penal Code.
According to the FIR, the man, an academician, began visiting a woman who had lost her husband in February 2006, ostensibly to provide moral support. He claimed to have divorced his first wife due to marital discord and subsequently led the woman to believe that he was a divorcee.
They entered into a second marriage in June 2014 and cohabited until January 31, 2016, when he abandoned her and returned to his first wife.
Upon investigation, it became evident that the man had misrepresented himself as divorced and had deceived the woman into marriage and a physical relationship based on false promises.
The man's legal representative argued that the woman was aware that divorce proceedings initiated against his first wife in 2010 had been quickly withdrawn.
However, the judges observed that the man had admitted to entering into a second marriage while his first marriage was still valid. Simultaneously, he asserted that their relationship was consensual. The judges concluded that engaging in a physical relationship with the complainant while his first marriage was still in effect could meet the criteria for Section 376 (rape).
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