Kathmandu, 01 Aug: The government is preparing to introduce a law that would allow exceptions to the complete ban on polygamy, which has been in effect since the implementation of the Criminal Code on Bhadra 1, 2075 (August 17, 2018). The proposed amendment to Section 175 of the Criminal Code would recognize a second marriage if a married man establishes a relationship with another woman resulting in pregnancy or childbirth. The Ministry of Law has already prepared a draft of the amendment.
The Ministry has stated that the move to amend the law is being taken forward because the current legal framework, which completely prohibits second marriages, has resulted in women being victimized.
“Marriage is a matter of individual freedom. If a man no longer gets along with his first wife and forms a relationship with another woman—resulting in childbirth—and that relationship cannot be formalized as marriage, the second woman’s life is ruined; many such women end up on the streets,” said Law Ministry Secretary Parashar Dhungana. “To prevent this, we are introducing a provision to legally recognize second marriage under specific conditions.”
Under the existing law, if a child is born from a woman while the man is already married, both the man and the woman are considered the child’s legal parents, and the child is entitled to all rights from both parents. However, the man and the second woman are not legally recognized as husband and wife. The current law also states that anyone practicing polygamy can face imprisonment ranging from one to five years, and a fine between NPR 10,000 and 50,000.
Section 175 of the Criminal Code states that “polygamy is not allowed.” Subsection 1 under this provision specifically mentions that a married man cannot enter into a second marriage while his first marital relationship is still in effect. The draft amendment to the bill proposes replacing the phrase “married man” with “any married person.”
“This change will prohibit both men and women from engaging in polygamy,” said Secretary Parashar Dhungana. “Under the current provision, it appeared as though women were allowed to remarry while still married, but this amendment will put an end to that ambiguity.”
In Subsection 2 of Section 175 of the Criminal Code, it is stated that “a woman must not knowingly marry a man who is already married.” However, the draft bill proposes to remove this provision entirely. Subsection 3, which allows a second marriage if the division of property between husband and wife has taken place, remains unchanged in the draft. Similarly, Subsection 4—regarding imprisonment and fines for those who engage in polygamy—has also been kept as it is.
Under the current law, Section 5 states that a second marriage is automatically void. But the revised draft proposes that only marriages conducted through deception will be considered automatically void and punishable. However, if the woman becomes pregnant or gives birth to a child, such marriages will not be annulled.
Legal experts have expressed serious concerns over the proposed amendment, warning that it could reintroduce a “wave” of polygamy in society. Former Chief Justice Sushila Karki strongly criticized the draft, stating, “This provision is rooted in patriarchal values that suggest a man can have as many wives as he likes. In any civilized society, two marriages at once are simply unacceptable. This will promote violence against women. Enacting this as law would not only be regressive—it would be a massive regression.”
Former Law Minister Madhav Prasad Paudel also argued that the proposed draft would worsen gender inequality. “In no civilized society—whether in the U.S., Europe, Japan, or China—is polygamy legally recognized,” he said. “Polygamy is legally punishable and socially unacceptable in modern legal theory. In the past, our laws allowed polygamy under various guises, and that brought international embarrassment to Nepal. It was only through strong effort that polygamy was completely outlawed in 2075 B.S. (2018). Reversing that progress would once again shame Nepal on the global stage.”
