● Retained in BNS
Bigamy committed while concealing the earlier marriage from the new spouse carries up to 10 years' imprisonment and fine under BNS Section 82(2) -- unchanged from IPC 495, and unlike ordinary bigamy under 82(1)/494, it remains non-compoundable.
Section 495 IPC punished the same bigamy offence defined in Section 494, aggravated by concealing the fact of the earlier marriage from the person with whom the subsequent marriage was contracted, with imprisonment of either description up to 10 years, and fine -- a higher ceiling than ordinary bigamy's 7 years, reflecting the added deceit toward the new spouse.
BNS Section 82(2) reproduces the offence and its 10-year, fine-liable punishment unchanged, cross-referencing "the offence under sub-section (1)" instead of "the offence defined in the last preceding section." Bigamy and its concealment-aggravated form now sit together as sub-sections (1) and (2) of one section instead of two separate IPC sections.
Punishment and conduct elements unchanged. The only change is structural -- IPC 495 is no longer its own section, but is folded into BNS 82 as sub-section (2) alongside ordinary bigamy as sub-section (1).
Imprisonment of either description up to 10 years, and fine..
IPC 495 is bailable..
This is a non-cognizable. offence.
Non-compoundable (unlike ordinary bigamy under 82(1), which is compoundable with the court's permission)..
Matters under IPC 495 are tried before the Magistrate of the First Class..
Common defences include the new spouse having actually known of the earlier marriage despite the allegation of concealment, and the defences available to ordinary bigamy under Section 82(1) -- a former marriage already declared void, or the former spouse's continuous, unheard-of absence for 7 years with disclosure.
Summaries are for general information and are not legal advice. For the authoritative bare-act text, see the official Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and Indian Penal Code, 1860 (full amended text, as it stood before repeal) on India Code, or the Ministry of Home Affairs' new criminal laws page. ← All comparisons