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Writer's picturelead India
Nov 29, 20233 min read

Section 496 Of Ipc- Examples

What happens when one gets to know that his or her marriage is fake or when one believes themselves to be married to their partner, when legally they are not. This misrepresentation or trickery during marriage can be considered as a criminal offence under the Indian Penal Code.


Marriages based on false information may include offences such as Counterfeit or Invalid marriage (Sections 493 and 496), Polygamy (Sections 494 and 495), and Criminal elopement (Section 498). Section 493 of the Code deals with the offence of Fraudulent marriage and Section 496 of the Code deals with the offence of fake marriage.

Section 496 of IPC-

Section 496 of IPC deals with the offence of fraud marriage. A person, aware that the nature of such a marriage ceremony is invalid, and with fraudulent or dishonest intention following such ceremony, will be liable under Section 496 of the IPC. Such mock or fraudulent marriages will be punished under this Section.


Essential elements of the Section-

  • The following elements are necessary when constituting the offence under section 496 of IPC-

  • The wrongdoer has dishonest intentions towards the marriage.

  • Such people went through the marriage ceremony with fraudulent intentions.

  • The person should be aware of the fact that such marriage will not be valid.

  • Main element for a fraudulent marriage would be Mens rea.

Nature of the Offences:

Offences committed under this Section are non-cognizable, i.e. a warrant by the magistrate would be needed for arresting the accused. These offences are bailable, i.e it is a right for granting a bail, for getting bail a person would have to go to the court where it would be at the option of the police to grant bail or not.


These offences are non-compoundable, i.e. the victim is not ready to compromise, thus dropping the charges against the offender. Cases involving Section 496 of the IPC can be tried in the court of Magistrate of First Class by the trial court- Court of a session.


Case Laws

  • Ram Chandra Bhagat v State of Jharkhand

In this case, a man promised a woman to marry and agreed to marry her eventually. Believing such promise, the woman cohabitated with him for nine years.

The court considered the question if the promise was the reason to believe in marriage or not, the court found it to be not the case and the man was not held liable

  • Sheikh Almuddin v. Emperor

It was observed that the marriage ceremony was invalid due to the existence of a previous marriage, in such a situation Section 496 shall not be applicable. It will be treated as an offence of bigamy which shall be dealt with under Section 494 of the IPC.

  • Kailash Singh v State of Rajasthan

The accused got married during the pendency of appeal against the divorce decree. However, the fact was not concealed from the girl he got married to, the court held the accused to be not liable for the offence under section 496 IPC as the mens rea is an important factor.


Conclusion

Marriage is considered to be a pure relationship and the acts of deceit and fraud are serious offences making it impure. IPC provides provisions for dealing with such offences in an appropriate way. Thus, in case you face a similar situation, it is important that you contact an experienced advocate.


Lead India offers you a team of experienced advocates who have been successfully handling cases related to civil or criminal offences, including those of divorce, domestic violence, etc. Even if you wish to apply for court marriage or marriage registeration, we offer you assistance from court marriage lawyers. Thus, if you wish to talk to a lawyer or seek free legal advice online, you may contact us.


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