Indian laws are strict when it comes to personal matters. Indian laws are only limited to civil and criminal laws in terms of uniformity. For private matters, Indian legislations have been framed in line with the several personal laws of the various religions that cohabit within the Indian territory.
While Muslims follow their personal laws, for Hindus, Hindu Succession Act, Hindu Marriage Act and other religious legislations govern their conduct. Everything from birthright in property, to marriage and succession, is mentioned in these laws and at times, non-adherence to these laws might pose criminal and civil problems for the offenders.
However, oftentimes, people of high stature and those who are doused in spotlight flout laws without worries. While many of us would think that people who are at a higher platform in society would be more compliant with laws, that doesn’t happen to be the case in most matters.
One such instance came to my notice when I was scrolling through Instagram reels on a lazy day. After a couple of reels, I came across a reel made by a man named Armaan Malik. He had posed with his two wives, showing how they both were happy together, contrary to the common belief of first and second wives being enemies.
I saw the name and presumed the man to be a Muslim. I moved on to the other reels, when I was met with a reel from the account of this man’s wife, Payal. Then, I saw his other wife who is named Kritika. I was curious, wondering how this man was able to maintain an account online despite having two Hindu wives. It was a genuine curiosity to know if he was hounded online or not.
Who Is Armaan Malik?
I surfed the internet and I was quick to find out that Armaan Malik is born and brought up in Ajmer, Rajasthan and has completed his studies from Mumbai, Maharashtra. I searched further and found that he is, in fact, a Hindu.
I was fooled by his name and surname, like many other people. I assumed that he must be a Muslim but Armaan is a common name in Hindus too and Malik is a jatt surname, shared with the Muslim community. One more reason for me to assume Armaan Malik to be a Muslim was that he shares his name with a Muslim singer.
In fact, one of the articles online on Armaan’s wife, Kritika, mentions that his given name was Sandeep before he changed it to Armaan.
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Laws Against Bigamy In India
Being a law student, I found it absurd that this person has married twice and has the nerve to show it off. As per the Hindu Marriage Act, enacted after India’s partition, Hindu men and women are prohibited from marrying more than one person at the same time. Since bigamy is illegal, the marriage that happens with the second person isn’t a valid one in the eyes of law.
Thus, it is safe to say that Armaan legally married only once and his second wife has no rights in his life or inheritance. His second wife has no rights of cohabitation, divorce, separation, maintenance along with lack of rights in property of Armaan.
This is further to say that any offspring conceived from such second marriage would be a child out of wedlock, legally and would have no rights that a legitimate child might have.
Bigamy is a non-cognizable offense; thus no action can be taken unless it is reported to the police. In addition to this, it is a bailable offense punishable with fine and jail time.
Religious Conversion For Second Marriage
However, some of you might say that Armaan may have changed his religion to Islam for marrying twice. While it is true that these acts are done by several people rather frequently, including Dharmendra and Hema Malini, this is illegal.
Conversion for the sake of marriage is an illegal and void conversion, as per the Supreme Court. This judgement was pronounced in the case of Lily Thomas v Union of India.
In conclusion, marriage in Hindus is more of a sacrament and not a contract, as has been reiterated by courts on multiple occasions. People who are influencers and command respect from the public should be aware of their acts and shouldn’t indulge in illegal activities. Further, the situation worries me about the rights of the second wife of Armaan and if she is even aware of what is waiting for her.
Image Source: Google Images
Sources: iPleaders, Sunday Guardian Live, Legal Services India
Find The Blogger At: @innocentlysane
This post is tagged under: bigamy, lily thomas v union of india, hindu, muslim, second wife, first wife, Armaan Malik, wife, husband, hindu marriage, marriage, marriage laws, personal laws
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I came across these accounts like and got confused. When I tried to look them up, I saw your article. What surprised me was millions of people follow them and treats them heroes.
Can these people not be reported? To police? Media? Anyone?
I am just thinking of doing the same why don’t we report this persona to media or police coz honestly he being a social media influencer is corrupting many pps mind with bigamy which he claims that he has two legal wives..how is the reason why I watch his videos
It has been clearly stated under section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act that permanent alimony and maintenance can be claimed on the basis of “any decree.” Therefore, even if the marriage is void ab initio, maintenance can still be claimed on the basis of a decree of nullity under section 11.
though 2nd wife won’t have rights as a wife but may contest for some rights being a live in relationship partner since question of maintenance rights of a live in partner who’s partner is already married has neither been decided by the judiciary nor been included in any enactment. however offspring may have limited rights in property of only their parents by virtue of section-16 of Hindu Marriage Act.