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Mr. A. N. Mulla, learned counsel for the appellant, had submitted two points before us. In the first place it was contended that in view of the provisions of Section 17 of the Hindu Marriage Act, the second marriage being a void marriage, the provisions of Section 494 I.P.C. are not attracted at all. We have given our anxious consideration to this argument but we are of the opinion that the argument is wholly untenable. Section 494 runs thus:

"Whoever, having a husband or wife living, marries in any case in which such marriage is void by reason of its taking place during the life of such husband or wife, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.

The essential ingredients of this offence are:

(1) that the accused spouse must have contracted the first marriage.

(2) that while the first marriage was subsisting the spouse concerned must have contracted a second marriage and (3) that both the marriages must be valid in the sense that the necessary ceremonies required by the personal law governing the parties had been duly performed.

It may also be noticed that Section 494 I.P.C. would come into play only if the second marriage becomes void by virtue of the fact that it had taken place in the life time of one of the spouses. Thus, it is not possible to accede to the contention of Mr. Mulla that merely because the second marriage was void under Section 17 of the Hindu Marriage Act hence Section 494 I.P.C. would not be attracted. Section 17 of the Hindu Marriage Act runs thus:

"Any marriage between two Hindus solemnized after the commencement of this Act is void if at the date of such marriage either party had a husband or wife living; and the provisions of sections 494 and 495 of the Indian Penal Code shall apply accordingly".

What Section 17 contemplates is that the second marriage must be according to the ceremonies required by law. If the marriage is void its voidness would only lead to civil consequences arising from such marriage. Section 17 makes it absolutely clear that the provision has to be read in harmony and conjunction with the provisions of Section 494 of the Penal Code which has been extracted above. Section 17 clearly provides that provisions of Sections 494 and 495 of the Penal Code shall apply accordingly. In other words though the marriage may be void under Section 17, by reason of the fact that it was contracted while the first marriage was subsisting the case squarely falls within the four corners of Section 494 and by contracting the second marriage the accused incurs the penalty imposed by the said statute. Thus the combined effect of Section 17 of Hindu Marriage Act and Section 494 I.P.C. is that when a person contracts a second marriage after the coming into force of the said Act, while the first marriage is subsisting he commits the offence of bigamy. (Emphasis ours). This matter no longer res integra as it concluded by a decision of this Court in Bhaurao Shankar Lokhande and Anr. v. State of Maharashtra & Anr.(1) This Court while considering the question of bigamy qua the provisions of Section 17 observed as follows:

(1) that the husband should take a pitcher full of water from the head of the prospective wife;

(2) that the wife should wear chura by the husband.

There is evidence of P.Ws. 2, 3, 4 and 5 who have proved fact that these ceremonies had been duly performed in their presence. That there was such a custom which requires these ceremonies was admitted by D.Ws. 3 and 5 who were examined by the appellant. The evidence led by the prosecution has been accepted by the High Court and the courts below and after perusing the evidence we are not in a position to hold that the finding of facts arrived by the courts below are wrong in law or perverse. From the evidence led by the prosecution, therefore, it has been clearly established that the second marriage which was performed by the appellant Gopal Lal with Gopi was a valid marriage according to the custom of the nata marriage prevalent in the Telli community to which the appellant belonged. This being so and the validity of the first marriage not having been disputed, Section 494 I.P.C. applies in terms and the appellant must be held to have committed the offence of bigamy as contemplated by Section 494 I.P.C. Lastly, Mr. Mulla pressed this appeal on the question of sentence. Bigamy is a serious offence and the maximum punishment under Section 494 is seven years. Therefore, where the offence of bigamy is proved the Court cannot take a very lenient view. In the instant case the appellant was sentenced to two years and a fine of Rs. 2,000/-. It appears that the appellant has already paid a fine of Rs. 2,000/-. In these circumstances, therefore, we feel that the ends of justice will be met by reducing the sentence of imprisonment from two years to one year but maintaining the sentence of fine. With this modification the appeal is dismissed. The appellant will now surrender and serve out the remaining portion of the sentence.