Imprisonment till rising of court not proper sentence for serious offence of bigamy: SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court said that imprisonment till rising of the court can be imposed in offences where no minimum sentence is prescribed, but this is not a proper punishment in a serious case of bigamy.

A bench of Justices C T Ravikumar and Sanjay Kumar said that imposition of sentences on offenders is not to satisfy the society but it is about the rule of proportionality to promote orderliness.

"In the matter of awarding sentence for conviction of an offence which may impact the society, it is not advisable to let off an accused after conviction with a flea-bite sentence," the bench said.

In the case, the court sentenced a woman and her second husband to six months in jail each for committing bigamy.

However, in view of the fact that the couple had a six-year-old child, the bench took a compassionate view and adopted a unique form of sentencing for the couple, to ensure that a parent remains with the child while the other is behind bars.

The court ordered the second husband to first surrender to serve his six-month sentence and after the completion of his sentence, the woman is to surrender within two weeks to serve her six-month jail. The bench made it clear that this arrangement shall not be treated as a precedent as it was ordered in special circumstances.

The matter before the court related to the challenge to the validity of the Madras High Court's order, which sentenced the couple to the rising of the court only.

Going through legal provision, the bench said, "The proviso to Section 418(1), CrPC, together with the penal provision under Section 494 IPC, prescribing no minimum imprisonment, but only the maximum, would definitely make imposition of ‘imprisonment till the rising of the court’ intra vires."

However, in the instant case, the bench said the punishment was "unconscionably lenient or a flea-bite sentence”.

In the judgment rendered on July 15, the bench said it is the solemn duty of the court to strike a proper balance awarding a sentence proportionate to the gravity of the offence committed by the accused concerned upon his conviction for serious offence.

The court pointed that a reading of the provisions would reveal that the legislature viewed the offence of bigamy as a serious offence.

"Though no minimum sentence is prescribed under Section 494 IPC, the maximum sentence of imprisonment prescribed thereunder for a conviction thereunder is seven years of imprisonment of either description. It is also to be noted that the said offence is compoundable only by the husband or wife of the person marrying with the permission of the court," the bench said.