Family & Marriage
Money & Property
Crimes & Violence
Police & Courts
Labour & Employment
Health & Environment
Citizen Rights & Constitution
Government & Elections
Media & Intellectual Property
Videos
Guides
Sample Forms
Statewise Information
General
Children
Women
LGBTQI+
Employees
Persons with Disabilities
Scheduled Castes & Tribes
Senior Citizens
Informal Workers
At the time of marriage, you should not have a married spouse who has not divorced his previous spouse. If you are a divorcée you can enter into a marriage again only if your divorce is complete.
Neither party should have a spouse living at the time of the marriage. You can file a civil injunction to try to stop your spouse from getting married to someone else.
If your spouse is still alive, it is a crime to be married to another person. Your first spouse can file a criminal case against you. This is an act of bigamy.1 This is not an easy process because the first spouse will have to produce concrete proof – even another child being born out of the second marriage is not enough.
If this is proven, you might go to jail for up to 10 years and also have to pay a fine.
- Section 17, The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. [↩]
Sarma
June 22, 2026
If wife vont come to Husband house for more than 10 years and stay with father nouse. And also dont know where she is what further to do?
Nyaaya
September 14, 2026
When a spouse has been living separately and her whereabouts are unknown for an extended period, the appropriate legal steps depend on whether she left voluntarily (desertion) or is genuinely missing, as well as the personal law governing the marriage,
Desertion requires proving both physical separation and a deliberate intent to abandon the marriage without reasonable cause, which can be legally complex to establish when a spouse’s whereabouts have been entirely unknown for years.
When whereabouts are entirely unknown, and the spouse is missing the legal focus shifts from marital fault to procedures for individuals who have disappeared.
Steps that can be taken:
Identify Governing Law: Procedures and grounds vary by personal law and it is important to know which personal law applies (eg: Hindu Marriage Act, Special Marriage Act, or Muslim Personal Law). Remedies differ for non-Hindu marriages.
Explore Presumption of Death: Under Section 113 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, if a person has not been heard of for seven years by those who would naturally know, a civil court can issue a declaration regarding the disappearance.
Establish Official Record: File a missing person report with local law enforcement or issue a formal public notice through legal counsel to document due diligence.