MUMBAI: The
BMC has ordered an inquiry against an officer after his second wife lodged a complaint of ill-treatment. The officer may face dismissal as municipal
service rules prohibit bigamy.
Deputy municipal commissioner (special) Nidhi Choudhary has asked the vigilance department to inquire into the complaint and details of the second marriage of the officer, who belongs to the Muslim community.
According to sources, this is the second time the woman, a resident of Jammu & Kashmir, has approached the BMC seeking help, as officials ignored her first complaint.
It was a few months ago that she lodged a complaint with BMC about ill-treatment by her husband, who works in the civic body. Claiming to be his second wife, she alleged that he neglected her and her child and also did not provide them monetary support. She said the officer lived with his first wife. A BMC source told TOI that the woman provided them with a photograph to back her claim that they were married. However, sources said, BMC officials closed the complaint without any probe after saying that it was a family dispute and the concerned officer was asked to sort it out.
Recently, when the woman lodged a complaint again, it came to the notice of Choudhary, who immediately asked for the details. Choudhary has also asked the legal department about the action that can be taken against the official under the municipal service rule for bigamy. The BMC will examine the woman’s nikahnama and other documents before initiating any action.
An official said, “The state government rule do not allow bigamy and those rules apply to the BMC too. A BMC employee cannot marry a second time without divorcing his wife. The legal department has been asked to give its opinion after examining service rules and personal laws. The officer can be removed from the service for violating the service rules.”
In 2015, when a Muslim employee of Uttar Pradesh’s irrigation department challenged a disciplinary authority order removing him from service for marrying second time without prior permission, the Supreme Court, said that a government employee cannot take refuge under Article 25 of the Constitution dealing with right to profess religion, to challenge rule barring polygamy. The apex court had said that the Conduct Rules of the Uttar Pradesh government for its employees, which mandates prior permission for contracting second marriage during the existence of the first marriage, is not violative of Article 25. “It was observed that a practice did not acquire sanction of religion simply because it was permitted. Such a practice could be regulated by law without violating Article 25,” the court had said.
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