Punjab News Line, Chandigarh:
A woman and her lover would hardly have thought that getting married without giving divorce would cost her so much. In this case, the Supreme Court has sentenced this woman and her lover, who had two marriages, to six months' imprisonment. The punishment is such that you too will be shocked to hear it.
According to the information, this woman and her second husband will have to stay in jail for six months each. They also have a child. Actually, this woman got married to another person again while her first marriage was still valid. On receiving this information, the woman's first husband approached the police and lodged a complaint. The first husband had approached the Supreme Court against the August 2022 decision of the Madras High Court on this matter. While hearing the case, the Madras High Court had sentenced the woman and her second husband to "imprisonment till the rising of the court". The Supreme Court described this punishment as small with the remark that it is like the punishment of a small insect bite. This punishment is not enough.
On this, the Supreme Court sentenced the woman and her second husband to six months of imprisonment each for having two wives. The court also devised an unusual sentencing scheme. The court arranged that both of them would serve the sentence one after the other to take care of the child. The bench ordered that the second husband should surrender first to serve his sentence and after his sentence is over, the woman must surrender within two weeks. This phased method of sentencing will ensure that one parent stays with the child while the other is serving the jail sentence.