CHAPTER V OF OFFENCES AGAINST WOMAN AND CHILD · Of offences relating to marriage

Section 82: Marrying again during lifetime of husband or wife

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

(1) 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 sub-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.

(2) Whoever commits the offence under sub-section (1) having concealed from the person with whom the subsequent marriage is contracted, the fact of the former marriage, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Corresponding IPC provision

As given in the correspondence table of the National Crime Records Bureau (Ministry of Home Affairs). Read both texts before relying on it. NCRB table

82(1)	494. Marrying again during lifetime of husband or wife.
82(2)	495. Same offence with concealment of former marriage from person with whom subsequent marriage is contracted.

Leading cases

Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India (1995)Decided on IPC section 494A Hindu husband who converts to Islam and marries again without dissolving his Hindu marriage contracts an invalid second marriage, which is void for the purposes of Section 494 IPC, and he is guilty of bigamy.

Questions on this section

15 questions in 42 of our papers cite Section 82. Try these from the free papers:

1. In Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India (1995), a Hindu husband converted to Islam and married again without his first marriage being dissolved. The Supreme Court held that the second marriage:
2. A is prosecuted under Section 82 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 for marrying again during the lifetime of his wife W. To prove the first marriage between A and W, the prosecution relies only on the testimony of neighbours that A and W were always received and treated by everyone as husband and wife. Under the BSA, this evidence is:
3. Which of the following is an essential ingredient of the offence under Section 82(1) of the BNS (marrying again during the lifetime of husband or wife)?

Practise questions on Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita