Special Marriage Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide
Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1954
Section 44 of Special Marriage Act: Punishment of bigamy
Official Bare Act Text
Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary
Every person whose marriage is solemnized under this Act and who, during the lifetime of his or her wife or husband, contracts any other marriage shall be subject to the penalties provided in section 494 and section 495 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), for the offence of marrying again during the lifetime of a husband or wife, and the marriage so contracted shall be void.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 44
Section 44 prescribes criminal penalties for bigamy committed by any person whose marriage was solemnized under the Special Marriage Act who subsequently contracts another marriage under any other law or ceremony.
Universal Monogamous Bond: Every person whose marriage was solemnized under this Act who, during the lifetime of his or her spouse, contracts any other marriage, shall be subject to the penalties provided in Sections 494 and 495 IPC (Sections 82 and 83 BNS, 2023).
Irrelevance of Conversion: Conversion to another religion (such as Islam) after an SMA marriage confers no right to contract a polygamous second marriage.
Voidness of Second Union: The subsequent marriage contracted under any other law or ceremony is completely void in law.
Key Landmark Precedents:
Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India (1995) 3 SCC 635: The Supreme Court held that a marriage celebrated under the Special Marriage Act can only be dissolved under the Special Marriage Act; unilateral religious conversion does not dissolve the civil union and contracting a second marriage attracts Section 44.
Lily Thomas v. Union of India (2000) 6 SCC 224: The Supreme Court ruled that Section 44 embodies an absolute statutory bar against bigamy, preserving the sanctity of civil marriages against sham conversions.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:
If an SMA spouse converts to another religion and purports to marry a second time under Islamic personal law, cite Section 44 and Sarla Mudgal. File a criminal complaint under Section 494 IPC/Section 82 BNS and seek an injunction against the second marriage.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 44
Section 44 prescribes criminal penalties for bigamy committed by any person whose marriage was solemnized under the Special Marriage Act who subsequently contracts another marriage under any other law or ceremony.
If an SMA spouse converts to another religion and purports to marry a second time under Islamic personal law, cite Section 44 and Sarla Mudgal. File a criminal complaint under Section 494 IPC/Section 82 BNS and seek an injunction against the second marriage.