Maharashtra court denies permission to probe offence against man who married twins

A court in Solapur has denied permission to investigate the non-cognizable offence registered against a man who allegedly got married to twin sisters earlier this month, on the ground that the complainant was not the aggrieved party in the offence, the Solapur district police have said. Based on the complaint filed by Rahul Phule, a social worker from Akluj, the Solapur district police had registered a non-cognizable offence against Awatade under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 494 on December 4. IPC section 494 pertains to marrying again during the lifetime of the husband or wife and attracts imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, besides a fine.

In the case of a non-cognizable offence, the police or investigating agency requires a court's nod to initiate a probe and make arrests of the persons named in the case as against a cognizable offence where police can initiate action on their own. After the Solapur police approached the competent court in Malshiras taluka of Solapur, the court last week rejected the plea to probe the case. The court observed in its ruling, “It appears that the informant is a third person not related to either of the parties to the marriage. The informant does not state...as to how he is aggrieved by the alleged act. The informant is not a party to the aforesaid marriage. Therefore, in my opinion he is not entitled to file a complaint in respect of the alleged offence.” The wedding -- photos and videos of which were widely circulated on social media -- had taken place at a hotel in Malegaon village on Welapur Road in Akluj area of Solapur district on December 2. The twin sisters, aged 36, had got married to a man identified as Atul Awatade. Awatade hails from Mahalung village in Akluj area while the family of the twin sisters is from a suburb of Mumbai.