Court caseAIR 1966 SC 614

Kanwal Ram, whose first wife was living, was alleged to have married a second woman, Kubja, in Himachal Pradesh; she and others who took part in the ceremony were prosecuted for abetment. The prosecution relied on the second "wife's" statement and on admissions of the parties rather than on proof of the ceremonies of the marriage. The accused were convicted under s. 494 and s. 494 read with s. 109 IPC, and the convictions were upheld by the Judicial Commissioner.

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and set aside the convictions. Following Bhaurao Shankar Lokhande v. State of Maharashtra (1965), it held that in a prosecution for bigamy the second marriage as a fact, that is, the essential ceremonies constituting it, must be proved; the word "marries" in s. 494 means marries validly, in the form prescribed by the personal law or custom of the parties. An admission of marriage by the accused is not evidence of it for the purpose of proving the marriage in a bigamy or adultery case, and the evidence of the witnesses did not establish that the essential ceremonies had been performed.