Law related to maintenance of second wife in India

Abstract

Most of the personal laws operating in India treat bigamy as void and illegal and also the criminal system of India punishes the offence of bigamy under sec 494 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) The position of legislations and personal laws with respect to the bigamous marriages are so stringent that the even innocent second wives who were kept in dark by the husbands regarding their first marriage have no respite with respect to the maintenance under current Indian legislative framework. This paper intends to deals with how innocent second wives who were betrayed by the husbands can rightfully claim maintenance in India. This paper attempts to provide a useful insight as to how with the help of liberal interpretation of the statutes by the judiciary the claim for maintenance by second wives has also given a valid position within the personal laws and also under sec 125 of Code of Criminal Procedure (C.r.P.C.)