Bigamy & Adultery Cases in India | Chennai Lawyers
BNS · Matrimonial offences

Matrimonial offences: bigamy, and what remains of adultery

Two allegations dominate this territory. Bigamy remains a criminal offence and a ground for divorce. Adultery is no longer a crime, but it continues to matter a great deal in the matrimonial court.

Quick answer

Bigamy, marrying again during the subsistence of a valid marriage, remains a criminal offence. Adultery was decriminalised in 2018 but remains a ground for divorce.

Both are hard to prove, and both are frequently alleged without the evidence to sustain them.

Bigamy

A second marriage during the subsistence of a valid first marriage is void, and it is an offence. It is also a ground for divorce, and additional grounds are available to a wife where the husband has remarried.

Proof is the difficulty. Courts require proof that the second marriage was actually solemnised with the essential ceremonies: cohabitation, a photograph, or an assertion of marriage is not enough on its own. Temple records, wedding invitations, witnesses to the ceremony and any registration are what carry the case.

Conversion does not legalise a second marriage. Converting to another religion in order to marry again does not dissolve the first marriage or make the second lawful, and the courts have been consistent on this.

Adultery after Joseph Shine

The Supreme Court struck down the criminal offence of adultery in 2018. It is no longer a crime, and no prosecution lies for it.

It remains, however, a ground for divorce under the matrimonial statutes, and it can be relevant to maintenance and, in limited ways, to custody where the conduct affects the child. Proof is rarely direct; courts draw inferences from circumstances, and evidence obtained unlawfully creates more problems than it solves.

Allegations, evidence and the risk of overreach

Both allegations are damaging on the record and both are frequently pleaded on suspicion. An unproved allegation of adultery or bigamy tends to rebound: it damages credibility on everything else, and can itself be pleaded as cruelty by the other side.

Our advice is consistent. Do not confront, do not attempt surveillance that crosses into illegality, and do not put an allegation on record until the evidence supports it. Where the evidence is genuinely there, plead it precisely and prove it: see also perjury and false affidavits where the other side has lied on oath.

FAQs

Matrimonial offences: questions

Is adultery still a crime in India?+

No. It was decriminalised by the Supreme Court in 2018. It remains a ground for divorce in the matrimonial courts.

How do I prove a second marriage?+

You need evidence of solemnisation: witnesses to the ceremony, invitations, photographs of the ceremony itself, temple or registration records. Cohabitation or a claim of marriage is not by itself sufficient.

Can adultery affect custody?+

Only where the conduct actually affects the welfare of the child. Courts decide custody on welfare, not on moral disapproval of a parent’s personal life.

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