In a bizarre incident, a man from Maharashtra has been booked by cops after videos of him marrying a pair of twin sisters together in the same ceremony went viral. The incident occurred in Malshiras tehsil of Solapur district on Friday. The groom, Atul Uttam Autade, however, has been booked for a non-congnisable offense under section 494 of the Indian Penal Code which penalises remarriage during lifetime of husband or wife after a local resident named Rahul Bharat approached the cops.
The wedding was not being held in secret. Both the sisters seemed to be happy with the arrangement and could be seen taking turns to garland the groom as part of the nuptials. Crowds present at the wedding including friends and relatives were seen cheering the trio on.
According to a report in the Hindustan Times, the two 36-year-old twin sisters, Rinky and Pinky Padgaonkar, are residents of Chandivali West, Mumbai. The duo decided to marry Autade, a resident of Mhalung, as they did not want to separate from each other. They tied the knot with Autade during the same ceremony. Autade tied the knot with Rinky first, then married Pinky.
Is Autade's marriage legal?
According to the Hindu Marriage Act, polygamy is prohibited, meaning a polygamous Hindu marriage is aofr all legal purposes null and void. Polygamy became illegal in India in 1956, uniformly for all of its citizens except for Muslims, who are permitted to have four wives. Hindus in Goa and along the western coast are allowed more than one wife since bigamy is legal for them. However, several Adivasi communities continue to practice polygamy.
Legally the second wife of a Hindu would be a mistress, although religiously and socially she may be considered a wife. Polygamy among Hindus is sometimes accepted in some rural areas, often with approval by earlier wives. The 2005-06 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) found that 2 percent of women reported that their husband had other wives besides themselves.
In the case of the Patgaonkar wedding, lawyers state that in such cases, the complaint has to come from the first wife. In this case, both wives seem to have given consent to the wedding. To certify whether the wedding is legitimate, authorities have to ascertain that all rules and rituals were followed.
While Padgaonkars' wedding wish may seem unusual, this is not the first time that twins or triplets have sought to marry twins, or even the same person. In May, News24.com reported on two twin sisters from Johannesburg who were in search of the perfect man to marry. Earlier in March, a Congolese man, identified as Luwizo had gone viral on social media after he married three sisters together on the same day.
