personal laws

Polygamy, most of us know already, is the practice of having more than one spouse at a time. It is considered legal in many countries. Polygamous marriages are also acknowledged in many African countries under Islamic or customary law. A modification of polygamy is polygynous, which is a system of marriage in which a husband can have two or more wives at the same time. In a polyandrous marriage, a woman has two or more husbands at the same time. Next, let’s discuss international laws on polygamy.

A marriage by an Indian with a foreigner is governed by the Foreign Marriage Act. The Act was first enacted in 1903 at the time of British rule, and remained in force for over six decades.

Marriage is not merely about the joining of hearts, as we like to call it, but it involves a more serious dimension: the legal sanction for sexual intercourse between the couple who have married each other. The Indian courts have held that even transient penetration does not amount to consummation of the marriage.

In most Indian homes, the concept of marriage and marital vows is undergoing sea change. No, this is not Page 3 reporting but it doesn’t mean we can’t share the much hidden, unspoken truths about divorces in India and how they are ‘manipulated’ in courts of law. Here's a cynical, realistic take to begin with: