- (1.) In this application under Section 482 of the Code the petitioner has moved for quashing of a charge-sheet under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code.
(2.) It was contended before this Court that nobody can be charged under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code unless there was a valid marriage between the parties. It appears from the perusal of the Case Diary containing the charge-sheeted materials that the petitioner by birth was a Hindu and according to Hindu Rites and Customs he married one Sitali Murmu and the said marriage is still subsisting. In the said wedlock Sitali Murmu gave birth to two child, who are also still alive. However, during the subsistence of the said marriage the petitioner having converted himself to Islam and taking a new name Subid Ali Murmu, married the defacto-complainant Taslima Begum according to Mohammedan Rites and Customs. The police during investigation seized the Ration Card and Election Photo Identity Card of the petitioner's first wife Sitali Murmu. In both the said documents petitioner's name has been recorded as her husband. The police also seized the marriage registration certificate of the petitioner with the defacto-complainant Taslima Begum, which was registered according to Mohammedan Law.
(3.) Therefore, it is an admitted position that the petitioner during the subsistence of his marriage with Sitali Murmu which was solemnized according to Hindu Rites and Customs and during her lifetime changed his religion and converted to Islam and then married the defacto-complainant Taslima Begum under Mohammedan Rites and Customs.;