Polygamy

In one minute

Polygamy means having more than one spouse at the same time. Hindu law allowed it for men before 1955. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 ended it for Hindus through section 5(i).

A second marriage during the first is now void and a crime. The children of such a marriage are still legitimate under section 16. Exams ask for the legal effects and for the social effects.

Legal provision

• Section 5(i), Hindu Marriage Act, 1955: neither party may have a spouse living at the time of the marriage.
• Sections 11 and 17: a marriage in breach is void. The bigamy provisions apply, now section 82 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
• Section 15: after a decree of divorce, either party may marry again once the time for appeal has expired, or the appeal has been dismissed.
• Section 16: a child of a void marriage under section 11 is legitimate. A child conceived before the decree in a voidable marriage is also legitimate. Section 16(3) limits the child's property rights to the property of the parents.

Meaning and definition

Polygamy is the state of having more than one spouse at one time. It has two forms. Polygyny is one husband with several wives. Polyandry is one wife with several husbands.

Detailed explanation

Step 1: before 1955

Classical Hindu law did not limit the number of wives of a man. A second marriage did not need the first wife's consent or a ground. The first wife had a right to maintenance and a place in the household. Polyandry was rare, and was confined to a few regions and communities.

Step 2: abolition by the Act

Section 5(i) made one spouse at a time a condition of every Hindu marriage. This applies to all Hindus, including Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs, as the Act covers them. Scheduled Tribes are outside the Act unless it is notified for them.

Step 3: legal effects of a plural marriage

• Void marriage: the later marriage has no legal effect (section 11).
• Crime: the spouse who marries again is liable for bigamy (section 17, BNS section 82).
• Status of the second spouse: she or he is not a wife or husband. In Yamunabai the Supreme Court denied maintenance as a wife under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
• Children: they are legitimate under section 16, with rights in the parents' property.

Step 4: social effects

Plural marriage affects the economic security of the first wife. It can leave her and her children without support. It brings disputes over property and household within the family. It also leaves the second family without a clear legal status. These are the reasons that reform laws and courts give for the ban.

Step 5: how a person may lawfully remarry

A person may marry again in three cases. The first marriage may end by divorce with the appeal time over (section 15). It may be declared void. Or the spouse may die.

Step 6: other personal laws

Hindu law bans plural marriage, but other personal laws are different. The Supreme Court has noted this difference in Sarla Mudgal and referred to Article 44 on a uniform civil code. A Hindu cannot use conversion to escape the ban.

Exceptions and special rules

• Scheduled Tribes: the Act applies only if the Central Government notifies it.
• Customary divorce: section 29(2) saves a right to dissolve a marriage given by custom, so a customary divorce frees the party to marry again.
• Court-declared void marriage: the bigamy offence does not apply where a court has declared the first marriage void.

Don't confuse: polygamy, bigamy and a live-in relationship

Term	Meaning	Hindu law position
Polygamy	More than one spouse at a time	Banned by section 5(i)
Bigamy	A second marriage during the first	Void and a crime
Live-in relationship	Living together without marriage	No marriage; limited protection under other laws

Common mistakes

• Saying that Hindu law still allows polygamy for men.
• Saying that the children of a second marriage are illegitimate. Section 16 protects them.
• Mixing polygamy with bigamy. Bigamy is the offence.
• Forgetting that a divorced person may marry again after the appeal time (section 15).

Apply it

Problem

Mohan in Warangal marries Lalitha in 2018, with rites, while his wife Sumathi is alive and undivorced. In 2020 a son is born to Lalitha. Sumathi sues. What are the effects?

Issue

What is the status of the marriage with Lalitha and of her son?

Rule

A marriage in breach of section 5(i) is void (section 11) and punishable (section 17). The child of a void marriage is legitimate (section 16).

Application

Mohan had a living spouse when he married Lalitha. The son was born of that marriage.

Conclusion

The marriage is void and Mohan is liable for bigamy. The son is legitimate and has a right in Mohan's own property.

Leading case laws

• Lily Thomas v. Union of India

  Facts. A Hindu husband, married in 1984, showed a conversion certificate and married again in 1992. He kept describing himself as a Hindu.

  Principle. Conversion does not end the first marriage. The second marriage is void under sections 11 and 17 of the Hindu Marriage Act and punishable.

  Why it matters. It confirms that conversion cannot be used to take a second wife.

• Yamunabai Anantrao Adhav v. Anantrao Shivram Adhav

  Facts. A woman went through rites with a man whose first wife was alive and later claimed maintenance as his wife.

  Principle. The marriage was void, and she could not claim the status of a wife under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

  Why it matters. It shows the harm to the second wife.

How to write this answer in the exam

Key points to remember

• Polygamy: more than one spouse at a time.
• Banned for Hindus by section 5(i) of the 1955 Act.
• Second marriage is void and a crime (section 11, 17; BNS section 82).
• Children are legitimate (section 16).
• A divorced person may remarry after the appeal time (section 15).

Quick self-test

Related topics

• Monogamy
• Conditions of Hindu Marriage
• Divorce