Court observed that the Quran allows polygamy for a fair reason but it has been used by Muslim men for selfish reasons.
The Allahabad High Court has held that a Muslim man cannot be prosecuted for bigamy if his multiple marriages were conducted in accordance with Mohammedan law [Furkan and Others v State of UP and Another].
Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal clarified that the offence of bigamy arises only when the first marriage has been declared void.
The Court further stated that bigamy charges would apply if the first marriage was solemnised under the Special Marriage Act, Foreign Marriage Act, Christian Marriage Act, Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, or Hindu Marriage Act, and the man subsequently remarried under Mohammedan law after converting to Islam.
“The Family Court has also jurisdiction u/s 7 of the Family Court Act to decide validity of a Muslim marriage performed in accordance with the Muslim Personal Law,” the Bench held.
The Court observed that the right to religious freedom guaranteed by Article 25 of the Indian Constitution is subject to certain limitations.
“This Court would further like to observe that Article 25 of the Constitution of India gives religious freedom to profess, practice and propagate, which also includes external overt acts of individual as per his religious faith, but this right is subject to public order, morality and health and other provisions of Part-III of the Constitution. Therefore, religious liberty under Article 25 is not unfettered and can be regulated by the State.”
The Bench underscored that although the Quran allows polygamy for legitimate reasons, it has frequently been exploited by men for selfish purposes.
Justice Deshwal pointed out that polygamy is referenced only once in the Quran and was allowed in the context of particular historical conditions.
“There was a time in history when a large number of women were widowed, and children were orphaned in primitive tribal tussles in Arabs. The Muslims suffered heavy casualties in defending the nascent Islamic community in Medina. It was under such circumstances that the Quran allowed conditional polygamy to protect orphans and their mothers from exploitation,” the Bench observed.
The Court stated that polygamy, as outlined in the holy book, is conditional.
“…it is clear that the Quran asks men first consider taking care of the orphans and only when they think they may not be able to do justice to the orphans’ interests while staying in isolation, should they consider marrying their widowed mothers, on the condition that the new family would be dealt with justly on par with the existing one.”
Noting the misuse of this freedom, the Court suggested that the legislature should consider enacting a Uniform Civil Code.
These remarks were made during the hearing of a petition filed by a man named Furkan, who sought the quashing of the chargesheet and criminal proceedings against him, which included allegations of bigamy and rape.
The case originated when a woman alleged that Furkan had concealed his existing marriage at the time of their wedding.
Furkan argued that Muslim law allows a man to have up to four wives.
After reviewing the facts, the Court ruled that the charges of bigamy and rape were not applicable in this instance, as the marriage was legally valid.
However, the Court observed that the matter required further investigation.
Consequently, it issued a notice to the complainant and instructed the police to refrain from taking any coercive measures against Furkan and the other accused.
