N Criminal Appeal No 255 of 1973
Appeal by Special Leave from the Judgment and Order dated 16 7 73 of the Rajasthan High Court in SB Crl
No 30973
A N Mulla and B P Singh for the Appellant
Sobhag Mal Jain and section K Jain for the Respsondent
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by FAZAL ALI J
This appeal by special leave is directed against a judgment of the Rajasthan High Court by which the conviction of the appellant under Section 494 IPC and sentence of two years rigorous imprisonment and fine of Rs 2000 have been upheld
The facts of this case have been detailed in the judgments of the courts below and it is not necessary to repeat them
Suffice it to say that the accused Gopal Lal married the complainant Kanchan sometime in the year 1963 and a child was born out of this wedlock
Soon thereafter the parties appeared to have fallen out and parted company
While the first marriage was subsisting Gopal Lal contracted a second marriage which according to the custom prevalent amongst Tellis is a valid marriage commonly known as nata marriage
This marriage was contracted on 20th of March 1969
The complainant Kanchan the first wife having come to know about this marriage filed a complaint on the 22nd March 1969 on the basis of 1173 which appellant was prosecuted and ultimately convicted as mentioned above
Mr A N Mulla learned counsel for the appellant had submitted two points before us
In the first place it was contended that in view of the provisions of Section 17 of the  the second marriage being a void marriage the provisions of Section 494 IPC are not attracted at all
We have given our anxious consideration to this argument but we are of the opinion that the argument is wholly untenable
Section 494 runs thus Whoever having a husband or wife living marries in any case in which such marriage is void by reason of its taking place during the life of such husband or wife shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine
Exception This section does not extend to any person whose marriage with such husband or wife has been declared void by a court of competent jurisdiction nor to any person who contracts a marriage during the life of a former husband or wife if such husband or wife at the time of the subsequent marriage shall have been continually absent from such person for the space of seven years and shall not have been heard of by such person as being alive within that time provided the person contracting such subsequent marriage shall before such marriage takes place inform the person with whom such marriage is contracted of the real state of facts so far as the same are within his or her knowledge
The essential ingredients of this offence are 1 that the accused spouse must have contracted the first marriage
2 that while the first marriage was subsisting the spouse concerned must have contracted a second marriage and 3 that both the marriages must be valid in the sense that the necessary ceremonies required by the personal law governing the parties had been duly performed
It may also be noticed that Section 494 IPC would come into play only if the second marriage becomes void by virtue of the fact 1174 that it had taken place in the life time of one of the spouses
Thus it is not possible to accede to the contention of Mr Mulla that merely because the second marriage was void under Section 17 of the hence Section 494 IPC would not be attracted
Section 17 of the runs thus Any marriage between two Hindus solemnized after the commencement of this Act is void if at the date of such marriage either party had a husband or wife living and the provisions of sections 494 and 495 of the Indian Penal Code shall apply accordingly
What Section 17 contemplates is that the second marriage must be according to the ceremonies required by law
If the marriage is void its voidness would only lead to civil consequences arising from such marriage
Section 17 makes it absolutely clear that the provision has to be read in harmony and conjunction with the provisions of Section 494 of the Penal Code which has been extracted above
Section 17 clearly provides that provisions of Sections 494 and 495 of the Penal Code shall apply accordingly
In other words though the marriage may be void under Section 17 by reason of the fact that it was contracted while the first marriage was subsisting the case squarely falls within the four corners of Section 494 and by contracting the second marriage the accused incurs the penalty imposed by the said statute
Thus the combined effect of Section 17 of and Section 494 IPC is that when a person contracts a second marriage after the coming into force of the said Act while the first marriage is subsisting he commits the offence of bigamy
Emphasis ours
This matter no longer res integra as it concluded by a decision of this Court in Bhaurao Shankar Lokhande and Anr
vs State of Maharashtra  Anr1 This Court while considering the question of bigamy qua the provisions of Section 17 observed as follows Section 17 provides that any marriage between two Hindus solemnized after the commencement of the Act is void if at the date of such marriage either party had a husband or wife living and that the provisions of sections 494 and 495 IPC shall apply accordingly
The marriage between two Hindus is void in view of section 17 if two conditions are satisfied i the marriage is solemnized after the commencement of the Act 1175 ii at the date of such marriage either party had a spouse living
If the marriage which took place between the appellant and Kamlabai in February 1962 cannot be said to be solemnized  that marriage will not be void by virtue of section 17 of the Act and section 494 IPC will not apply to such parties to the marriage as had a spouse living
The word solemnize  means in connection with a marriage to celebrate the marriage with proper ceremonies and in due form  according to the Shorter Oxford Dictionary
It follows therefore that unless the marriage is celebrated or performed with proper ceremonies and in due form  it cannot be said to be solemnized 
It is therefore essential for the purpose of section 17 of the Act that the marriage to which section 494 IPC applies on account of the provisions of the Act should have been celebrated with proper ceremonies and in due form
It was thus pointed out by this Court that Section 17 of the requires that the marriage must be properly solemnized in the sense that the necessary ceremonies required by law or by custom must be duly performed
Once these ceremonies are proved to have been performed the marriage become properly solemnized and if contracted while the first marriage is still subsisting the provisions of Section 494 will apply automatically
In a decision of this Court in Kanwal Ram  Ors
vs The Himachal Pradesh Administration the earlier case was noticed by the Court and relied upon
The matter has also been fully discussed in Priya Bala Ghosh vs Suresh Chandra Ghosh
In view of the authorities of this Court therefore the following position emerges where a spouse contracts a second marriage while the first marriage is still subsisting the spouse would be guilty of bigamy under Section 494 if it is proved that the second marriage was a valid one in the sense that the necessary ceremonies required by law or by custom have been actually performed
The voidness of the marriage under Section 17 of the is in fact one of the essential ingredients of Section 494 because the second marriage will become void only because of the provisions of Section 17 of the 
In these circumstances therefore we are unable to accept the contention of Mr Mulla that the second marriage being void Section 494 will have no application
It was next contended by Mr Mulla that there is no legal evidence to show that the second marriage which is said to 1176 be a nata marriage was actually performed
We are afraid we are unable to go into this question because three courts have concurrently found as a fact that the parties were governed by custom of nata marriage and the two essential ceremonies of this marriage are 1 that the husband should take a pitcher full of water from the head of the prospective wife 2 that the wife should wear chura by the husband
There is evidence of PWs 2 3 4 and 5 who have proved fact that these ceremonies had been duly performed in their presence
That there was such a custom which requires these ceremonies was admitted by DWs 3 and 5 who were examined by the appellant
The evidence led by the prosecution has been accepted by the High Court and the courts below and after perusing the evidence we are not in a position to hold that the finding of facts arrived by the courts below are wrong in law or perverse
From the evidence led by the prosecution therefore it has been clearly established that the second marriage which was performed by the appellant Gopal Lal with Gopi was a valid marriage according to the custom of the nata marriage prevalent in the Telli community to which the appellant belonged
This being so and the validity of the first marriage not having been disputed Section 494 IPC applies in terms and the appellant must be held to have committed the offence of bigamy as contemplated by Section 494 IPC Lastly Mr Mulla pressed this appeal on the question of sentence
Bigamy is a serious offence and the maximum punishment under Section 494 is seven years
Therefore where the offence of bigamy is proved the Court cannot take a very lenient view
In the instant case the appellant was sentenced to two years and a fine of Rs 2000 
It appears that the appellant has already paid a fine of Rs 2000 
In these circumstances therefore we feel that the ends of justice will be met by reducing the sentence of imprisonment from two years to one year but maintaining the sentence of fine
With this modification the appeal is dismissed
The appellant will now surrender and serve out the remaining portion of the sentence
SR Appeal dismissed


Summary:
After having fallen out and parted company with his wife Kanchan in the year 1963 the appellant belonging to Telli community contracted a second marriage prevalent amongst his community with Gopi on 20th March 1969
A complaint filed by his first wife ended in his conviction under section 494 IPC and sentence of two years RI and a fine of Rs 2000  the conviction and sentence having been upheld by the Rajasthan High Court
Dismissing the appeal by special leave the Court  HELD 1
The second marriage was a valid marriage according to the custom of the nata marriage prevalent in the Telli community which requires the following two essential ceremonies a that the husband should take a pitcher full of water from the head of the prospective wife and b that the wife should wear chura by the husband
The prosecution through PWs
2 3 4 and 5 having proved that these ceremonies have been duly performed that there was such a custom which requires the said ceremonies having been admitted by the defence witnesses 3 and 5 and the validity of the first marriage not having been disputed Section 494 IPC applies in terms and the appellant must be held to have committed the offence of Bigamy as contemplated by section 494 IPC 1176A E 2
The combined effect of section 17 of the Hindu Marriage Act and section 494 IPC is that when a person contracts a second marriage after the coming into force of the said Act while the first marriage is subsisting such a person commits the offence of bigamy
1174 E Section 17 of the makes it absolutely clear that the provision has to be read in harmony and conjunction with the provisions of section 494 IPC the essential ingredients of which are i that the accused spouse must have contracted the first marriage ii that while the first marriage was subsisting the spouse concerned must have contracted a second marriage and iii that both the marriages must be valid in the sense that the necessary 1172 ceremonies required by the personal law governing the parties had been duly performed and iv the second marriage must have become void by virtue of the fact that it had taken place in the life time of one of the spouses
1173F H 3
Where a spouse contracts a second marriage while the first marriage is still subsisting the spouse would be guilty of bigamy under section 494 IPC if it is proved that the second marriage was a valid one in the sense that the necessary ceremonies required by law or by custom have been actually performed
The voidness of the marriage under section 17 of the is in fact one of the essential ingredients of section 494 because the second marriage will became void only because of the provisions of section 17 of the 
Therefore the contention that the second marriage being void section 494 IPC will have no application is not correct
1175F G Bhaurao Shankar Lokhande and Anr
vs State of Maharashtra and Ors 19652 SCR 837 Kanwal Ram and Ors
vs The Himachal Pradesh Administration 19661 SCR 539 and Priya Bala Ghosh vs Suresh Chandra Ghosh 19733 SCR 961 applied
Bigamy being a serious offence for which the maximum punishment is seven years the Court while maintaining the conviction reduced the sentence to one year