Punishment for Offences Relating to Marriage under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

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Introduction 

Marriage, as a sacred institution and a foundation of society, is intended to cultivate love, trust, and responsibility between people. Notwithstanding, regardless of the optimistic vision of the conjugal rapture, relationships can once in a while be defaced by different offences, prompting lawful repercussions and huge social outcomes. Offences connected with marriage envelop an extensive variety of unfortunate behavior that can influence the prosperity of people, families, and networks at large. In India, offences relating to marriage are governed under the provisions of the colonial-era criminal law, the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC). Recently, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, was introduced to overcome the shortcomings of the IPC as well as “to consolidate and amend the provisions relating to offences”. In this article, we will explore the provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, concerning the offences relating to marriage. 

Offences relating to Marriage: Provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, (BNS) has received assent from the President of India and is all set to be enforced on July 01, 2024, as notified by Home Minister Amit Shah. The BNS will replace the IPC, 1860, with a motive to enhance the justice delivery system of India. This law provides various provisions that penalize different types of offences against women including rape, assault, offences relating to marriage, and others. Below are the important provisions of the BNS concerning the offences relating to marriage. 

• Section 79: This Section under the new law, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, penalizes  ‘Dowry Death’. Section 79(1) states that “Where the death of a woman is caused by any burns or bodily injury or occurs otherwise than under normal circumstances within seven years of her marriage and it is shown that soon before her death she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative of her husband for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry, such death shall be called ‘dowry death’, and such husband or relative shall be deemed to have caused her death.” Whereas ‘dowry’ in this Section means “any property or valuable security given or agreed to be given either directly or indirectly-
  • by one party to a marriage to the other party to the marriage; or
  • by the parents of either party to a marriage or by any other person, to either party to the marriage or to any other person;

at or before or any time after the marriage in connection with the marriage of the said parties, but does not include dower or mahr in the case of persons to whom the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) applies,” as defined under Section 2 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. Section 79(2) of the BNS states that whoever commits dowry death should be punished with imprisonment not less than 7 years but which may extend to imprisonment for life.

• Section 80: This Section of BNS deals with ‘Cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage’. It states that every man who by deceit causes any woman who is not lawfully married to him to believe that she is lawfully married to him and to cohabit or have sexual intercourse with him in that belief should be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years and a fine. 
• Section 81: It deals with ‘Bigamy’ which is Marrying again during the lifetime of a husband or wife. Section 81(1) states that Whoever, having a husband or wife living marries in any case in which such marriage is void by reason of its taking place during the life of such husband or wife should be punished with imprisonment for a term extending to 7 years and a fine. However, this sub-section does not extend to any person whose marriage with such husband or wife has been declared void by a Court of competent jurisdiction, nor to any person who contracts a marriage during the life of a former husband or wife, if such husband or wife, at the time of the subsequent marriage, shall have been continually absent from such person for the space of seven years, and shall not have been heard of by such person as being alive within that time provided the person contracting such subsequent marriage shall, before such marriage takes place, inform the person with whom such marriage is contracted of the real state of facts so far as the same are within his or her knowledge. Section 81(2) illustrates that “Whoever commits the offence under sub-section (1) having concealed from the person with whom the subsequent marriage is contracted, the fact of the former marriage, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.”
• Section 82: Any person if dishonestly or with a fraudulent intention goes through the ceremony of being married knowing that he is not thereby lawfully married then that person is punished under Section 82 of the BNS.  According to this Section, such a person should be punished with imprisonment for a term that may extend to 7 years and a fine.
• Section 83: This section deals with the offence of ‘enticing or taking away or detaining with criminal intent a married woman’. It states that “Whoever takes or entices away any woman who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of any other man, with intent that she may have illicit intercourse with any person, or conceals or detains with that intent any such woman, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.” 
• Section 84: If the husband or relative of the husband of a woman subjects the woman to any kind of cruelty then they should be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 years and a fine.
• Section 85: It states that “Whoever kidnaps or abducts any woman with intent that she may be compelled, or knowing it to be likely that she will be compelled, to marry any person against her will, or in order that she may be forced or seduced to illicit intercourse, or knowing it to be likely that she will be forced or seduced to illicit intercourse, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine; and whoever, by means of criminal intimidation as defined in this Sanhita or of abuse of authority or any other method of compulsion, induces any woman to go from any place with intent that she may be, or knowing that it is likely that she will be, forced or seduced to illicit intercourse with another person shall also be punishable as aforesaid.” 

Important Supreme Court Verdicts on offences relating to marriage

• Alamgir vs. State of Bihar (November 14, 1958)
• Mohd. Hoshan vs. State of A.P. (September 16, 2002)
• Reema Aggarwal vs. Anupam and Others (January 08, 2004)
• Sushil Kumar Sharma vs. Union of India (July 19, 2005)
• Pashaura Singh vs. State of Punjab & Anr. (November 13, 2009)
• Arnesh Kumar vs. State of Bihar & Anr. (July 02, 2014)

Conclusion

Offences connected with marriage envelop an expansive range of offences that can have extensive lawful and social ramifications. This article provides a brief overview of provisions concerning offences relating to marriage against women in Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The BNS retains provisions regarding offences relating to marriage mentioned under IPC but it also criminalizes sexual intercourse with a woman by deceitful means. Moreover, BNS does not include any provision related to Adultery which was prevalent under IPC (Section 497) but was struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the Joseph Shine vs. Union of India (September 27, 2018) judgment stating that “Section 497 lacks an adequately determining principle to criminalize consensual sexual activity and is manifestly arbitrary.”