New Delhi: More than one marriage among Muslims has been challenged by filing a petition in the country's largest court. The petition termed the practise as discriminatory against the Constitution and women. The petition filed by the voluntary organization of Lucknow and Karan Singh stated, "Muslim law still allows to have more than one wife at the same time. But it is a gender-based bias against the fundamental principle of the constitution because more than one marriage is not in the national interest. "
Vishnu Shankar Jain, the lawyer who filed the petition, challenged the legality of section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Sharia) Application Act, 1937. In that, more than one marriage has been allowed for Muslims. Whereas under Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code, such marriage is considered a crime. The second marriage of a Hindu, Parsi or Christian, while his wife is alive, is an offence under Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code. This type of marriage is not punishable for any Muslim. The petitioners stated, "Section 494 is, therefore, discriminatory on the basis of religion and a violation of sections 14 and 15 (1) of the Constitution." He said in his petition that more than one marriage makes the lives of women pathetic and disrespectful.
The petition further states, "This practice exploits women and is against human dignity, courtesy and equality." The petitioners stated that the criminal law cannot be based on caste, race or religion. Drawing the attention of the court, it has been said that the practice cannot be allowed only to one religious community while people of other religions are prevented from doing so. Through the petition, section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Sharia) Application Act, 1937 has been sought to be repealed.
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