Supreme Court seeks Centre's reply on plea to end polygamy
The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Union government on a petition seeking to declare polygamy among Muslims unconstitutional and to direct legislative steps to abolish the practice for all citizens, regardless of religion.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant sought the Centre's response on a plea filed by activist Zakia Soman and others, represented by advocates Shriya Maini and Rajive Maini. The petition asks for the uniform application of Section 82 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which punishes bigamy, by removing any exemptions under Muslim Personal Law.
The petitioners have also sought compulsory registration of Muslim marriages and divorces with State authorities to prevent secret subsequent marriages. In cases of polygamous attempts, they have demanded that the first wife and children should have an absolute and immediate right to the matrimonial home, along with a fast-tracked mechanism for financial maintenance.
Additionally, the plea urges the court to direct the Law Commission of India or the Union government to prepare a draft for codifying Muslim Personal Law in alignment with constitutional principles of gender equality concerning marriage, divorce, and succession.
The petition argues that the Quran's intent was the eventual elimination of polygamy over time. It cites examples of several Muslim-majority countries that have moved away from unrestricted polygamy, using Quranic interpretation or state necessity to prioritise monogamy as the ideal social state. The plea states that these jurisdictions have demonstrated that polygamy is neither essential to the practice of Islam nor immune from legislative reforms.
Referring to a survey submitted last year across seven States—including Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, and Rajasthan—the petitioners said that 88% of husbands did not seek consent for a second marriage, and 79% did not even inform their first wives. They contended that this proves the practice is now characterised by fraud rather than justice and called polygamy a primary driver of female destitution.
The petition highlights the current legal disparity: while bigamy is a criminal offence for Hindus, Christians, and Parsis under their respective personal laws and the penal law, Muslim men are permitted to take up to four wives under the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937.
The petitioners assert that the Indian Constitution neither grants absolute protection to any personal law that is arbitrary or unjust, nor exempts personal laws from the jurisdiction of the legislature or the judiciary. They note that the Uniform Civil Code remains an elusive constitutional goal despite repeated apex court orders, but point to Uttarakhand's UCC implementation and Gujarat's impending adoption as evidence of feasibility, followed by Assam's distinct stand on polygamy.
The Supreme Court has not yet issued any ruling on the merits of the petition. It has only sought the Centre's response, which will likely be filed in the next hearing. The Union government has not publicly commented on the notice.
