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5. The High Court considered the submissions advanced at the Bar as well as the provisions of Sections 198(1)(c) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Section 494 and 495 IPC and the Judgment of Division Bench of Andhra Pradesh High Court in Mavuri Rani Veera Bhadranna Vs. State of A.P. and Anr. 2007 (1) ALD (Crl.) 13 (A.P.) and concluded that the Division Bench in Mavuri Rani Veera Bhadranna (supra) had taken note of the fact that the offence punishable under Section 494 IPC as amended by the State of Andhra Pradesh was made cognizable, and though there was no corresponding amendment to Section 198 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the investigating agency was entitled to investigate, and the Magistrate was not precluded from taking cognizance of the said offence on report filed by the police. Having so concluded the Division Bench proceeded to quote part of the Judgment in Mavuri Rani  Reportable Veera Bhadranna (supra) and after noting contentions on behalf of the parties proceeded to consider the decision in the case of S.Radhika Sameena Vs. Station House Officer, 1997 Criminal Law Journal 1655 and held that the decision of the Division Bench in Mavuri Rani Veera Bhadranna (supra) was holding the field with regard to competency of the police to file charge sheet and competency of the Magistrate to take cognizance of the offences punishable under Sections 494 and 495 IPC on the report filed by the police. The High Court further concluded that taking cognizance of the offences punishable under Sections 417, 420, 494 and 495 IPC was in accordance with law, but the victim i.e. the respondent no. 2 in the present case was second wife and therefore prima facie marriage between appellant and the second respondent was void and therefore, offence under Section 498A IPC was not made out against the appellant.

7. The learned Counsel for the appellant argued that the learned Magistrate could not have taken cognizance of offences under Sections 494 and 495 IPC on the basis of the police report submitted by the Investigating Officer because though the State legislation amended the First Schedule to the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 by making the offences under Section 494 ad 495 IPC cognizable, the legislation made by the Parliament in respect of Section 198 of the Code of Criminal Procedure remained the same and in the event of  Reportable any repugnancy between the two legislations, the legislation made by the Parliament would prevail. It was emphasized that Section 198 A inserted by Section 5 of the Act 46 of 1983 with effect from 25.12.83 provides that no Court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code except upon a police report of facts which constitute such offences or upon a complaint made by the person aggrieved by the offence or by her father, mother, brother, sister or by her father's, her mother's, brother or sister or with the leave of the Court by any other person related to her by blood, marriage or adoption, but no provision is made to enable a court to take cognizance of offences punishable under Sections 494 and 495 of the Indian Penal Code upon police report and therefore the proceedings pending before the learned Magistrate in respect of those offences should have been quashed. Referring to Section 198(1)(c) which inter alia provides that no Court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under Chapter XX of the Indian Penal Code except upon a complaint made by a person aggrieved, where the person  Reportable aggrieved by an offence punishable under Section 494 or Section 495 of the Indian Penal Code, is the wife etc., it was pleaded that in the instant case no complaint was made to the Court but was made to the police and on the basis of charge sheet, the Magistrate had taken cognizance of the offences which is contrary to Section 198 of the Code and is illegal. What was asserted was that the High Court failed to notice that under Section 198(1)(c) of the Criminal Procedure Code only a legally wedded wife or someone on her behalf as mentioned in the said Section can make a complaint to Magistrate for the offences under Section 494 and 495 IPC and as admittedly the complaint was made by the respondent no. 2 who is claiming to be second wife of the appellant herein and that too to the police and not in the Court, the proceedings initiated for alleged commission of those offences should have been quashed. In support of above stated contentions, the learned Counsel for the petitioner placed reliance on the decision in Mavuri Rani Veera Bhadranna (Supra).

It is not a matter of long past that in India, hypergamy brought forth wholesale polygamy and along with it misery, plight and ignominy to woman having no parallel in the world. In post vedic India a King could take and generally  Reportable used to have more than one wife. Section 4, of Hindu Marriage Act nullifies and supersedes such practice all over India among the Hindus. Section 494 is intended to achieve laudable object of monogamy. This object can be achieved only by expanding the meaning of the phrase "aggrieved person". For variety of reasons the first wife may not choose to file complaint against her husband e.g. when she is assured of re-union by her husband, when husband assures to snap the tie of second marriage etc. Non-filing of the complaint under Section 494 IPC by first wife does not mean that the offence is wiped out and monogamy sought to be achieved by means of Section 494 IPC merely remains in statute book. Having regard to the scope, purpose, context and object of enacting Section 494 IPC and also the prevailing practices in the society sought to be curbed by Section 494 IPC, there is no manner of doubt that the complainant should be an aggrieved person. Section 198(1)(c) of the Criminal Procedure Code, amongst other things, provides that where the person aggrieved by an offence under Section 494 or Section 495 IPC is the wife,  Reportable complaint on her behalf may also be filed by her father, mother, sister, son, daughter etc. or with the leave of the Court, by any other person related to her by blood, marriage or adoption. In Gopal Lal Vs. State of Rajasthan (1979) 2 SCC 170 this Court has ruled that in order to attract the provisions of Section 494 IPC both the marriages of the accused must be valid in the sense that the necessary ceremonies required by the personal law governing the parties must have been duly performed. Though Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act provides that any marriage solemnized, if it contravenes the conditions specified in Clause (i) of Section 5 of the said Act, shall be null and void, it also provides that such marriage may on a petition presented by either party thereto, be so declared. Though the law specifically does not cast obligation on either party to seek declaration of nullity of marriage and it may be open to the parties even without recourse to the Court to treat the marriage as a nullity, such a course is neither prudent nor intended and a declaration in terms of Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act will have to be asked for, for the purpose  Reportable of precaution and/or record. Therefore, until the declaration contemplated by Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act is made by a competent Court, the woman with whom second marriage is solemnized continues to be the wife within the meaning of Section 494 IPC and would be entitled to maintain a complaint against her husband.

Reportable To hold that a woman with whom second marriage is performed is not entitled to maintain a complaint under Section 494 IPC though she suffers legal injuries would be height of perversity.

11. Section 495 IPC provides that if a person committing the offence defined in Section 494 IPC conceals from the person with whom subsequent marriage is contracted, the fact of the former marriage, the said person is liable to punished as provided therein. The offence mentioned in Section 495 IPC is an aggravated form of bigamy provided in Section 494 IPC. The circumstance of aggravation is the concealment of the fact of the former marriage to the person with whom the second marriage is contracted. Since the offence under Section 495 IPC is in essence bigamy, it follows that all the elements necessary to constitute that offence must be present here also. A married man who by passing himself off as unmarried induces an innocent woman to become, as she thinks his wife, but in reality his mistress, commits one of the grossest forms of frauds known to law  Reportable and therefore severe punishment is provided in Section 495 IPC. Section 495 begins with the words "whoever commits the offence defined in the last preceding Section........" The reference to Section 494 IPC in Section 495 IPC makes it clear that Section 495 IPC is extension of Section 494 IPC and part and parcel of it. The concealment spoken of in Section 495 IPC would be from the woman with whom the subsequent marriage is performed. Therefore, the wife with whom the subsequent marriage is contracted after concealment of former marriage, would also be entitled to lodge complaint for commission of offence punishable under Section 495 IPC. Where second wife alleges that the accused husband had married her according to Hindu rites despite the fact that he was already married to another lady and the factum of the first marriage was concealed from her, the second wife would be an aggrieved person within the meaning of Section 198 Cr. P.C. If the woman with whom the second marriage is performed by concealment of former marriage is entitled to file a complaint for commission of offence under Section 495 IPC, there is no reason why she  Reportable would not be entitled to file complaint under Section 494 IPC more particularly when Section 495 IPC is extension and part and parcel of Section 494 IPC.