Muslim polygamy is 'misused by men for selfish reasons', says Allahabad HC in bigamy case

The Allahabad High Court has ruled that a Muslim man is legally permitted to marry more than once, provided he treats all his wives equally, in accordance with Islamic law. The court made the observation while hearing a plea by a man named Furkan seeking to quash criminal proceedings against him, including charges of bigamy and rape which were charged against him by a Moradabad court.

Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal, while delivering the judgment, noted that the Quran permits polygamy under specific and historically justified circumstances, but it is "misused" by men for "selfish reasons", as quoted by Bar and Bench.“The Quran mentions polygamy just once, and that too in a historical context where it aimed to protect widows and orphans from being exploited during early tribal conflicts in Arabia where the Muslims suffered heavy casualties while defending the early Islamic community in Medina,” the court observed.

The case began when a woman in 2020 accused him of marrying her without informing her of his first marriage. She also accused him of raping during the course of their marriage following which she filed a case against Furkan and two others.


Furkan argued that as a Muslim man, he is legally allowed to marry up to four women, and that the complainant entered into the marriage knowingly, after being in a relationship with him. His counsel contended that for the offence of bigamy under Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code to apply, the first marriage would have to be declared void — which was not the case here.

After reviewing the facts, an 18 page judgement by the court concluded that neither the offence of bigamy nor rape was applicable in Furkan’s case, stating that the second marriage was valid since both parties were Muslims. The court noted that the woman’s consent and knowledge played a role, and that religious personal laws permit such a marriage under specific conditions.

The matter has been listed for the next hearing on May 26.