A Supreme Court Bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant issued a notice to the Union government on a petition seeking to declare Muslim polygamy unconstitutional.
Filed by activist Zakia Soman and others, the plea advocates for the uniform application of Section 82 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita to abolish bigamy exemptions.
The petitioners demand compulsory registration of Muslim marriages and divorces alongside fast-tracked financial maintenance and secure matrimonial housing for first wives.
On Friday, July 31, 2026, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to respond to a petition seeking to outlaw Polygamy among Muslims. The plea demands laws to end polygamy for all citizens across religions.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant issued notice to the Union government regarding the matter. Activist Zakia Soman and others filed the petition, represented by advocates Shriya Maini and Rajive Maini. The plea seeks uniform application of Section 82 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) to remove bigamy exemptions under Muslim Personal Law.
Demands for Legal Reform
The plea urged the government to make registering Muslim weddings and divorces with state authorities mandatory to stop clandestine subsequent marriages.
If a husband attempts another marriage, his initial spouse and children must secure instant rights to the family home, the plea said. It also demanded a speedy system to resolve financial support.
The petitioners want codified rules for which they asked the court to instruct the Law Commission of India or the Union government to formulate a draft code. This measure would ensure that marriage, divorce and inheritance rules respect constitutional guarantees of gender parity.
Penal laws criminalise bigamy for most Indians, Hindus, Christians and Parsis face prosecution for marrying twice under their respective personal codes. By contrast, the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 allows Muslim men to take up to four wives.
Survey Exposes Widespread Abuse
A seven-state study by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) detailed the practice. The survey, covering Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Rajasthan, showed that 88% of husbands married again without asking for permission.
The survey also revealed that 79% of husbands failed to even inform their original spouses. This trend proves the custom is "characterised by fraud rather than 'justice'", the petitioners said.
The plea argued that polygamy is a "primary driver of female destitution".
Constitutional and Global Precedents
According to the petitioners, the holy text seeks to phase out the custom. Soman said the scriptures aimed to gradually end the practice.
The plea argued: “Many Muslim-majority countries have moved away from unrestricted polygamy, using Quranic interpretation or state necessity to prioritise monogamy as the ideal social state. Several Muslim-majority jurisdictions have demonstrated that polygamy is neither essential to the practice of Islam nor immune from legislative reforms.”
The petition also noted: “Indian Constitution neither grants any absolute protection to personal law of any community that is arbitrary or unjust, nor exempts personal laws from jurisdiction of the legislature or the judiciary.”
The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) remains an elusive constitutional goal despite repeated apex court orders. However, the petition pointed out that Uttarakhand’s UCC implementation and Gujarat’s impending adoption demonstrate feasibility, followed by Assam’s distinct stand on polygamy.
