New Delhi: Twin sisters in Mumbai got married to the same man in a ceremony held in Maharashtra's Solapur district, the police said on Sunday. The videos of the wedding of the two sisters, who are IT professionals, are trending in social media.
Both sisters, aged 36, decided to marry the man in an unusual arrangement, news agency PTI reported.
The police also filed a non-cognisable (NC) offence under section 494 (marrying again during lifetime of husband or wife) of the Indian Penal Code against the groom at Akluj police station based on a complaint, PTI reported an official as saying.
In fact, both sides agreed to the marriage. The girls were living with their mother after their father passed away.
The purported video that went viral shows the twins trying to garland the bridegroom at the same time while people can be seen cheering them.
According to a report by the Hindustan Times, the two sisters apparently took the decision to marry the same man because they couldn’t stay away from each other after marriage.
A police complaint was filed by a local resident Rahul Bharat against the groom identified as Atul Uttam Autade. Autade, who is a resident of Mhalung in Solapur, solemnised his first marriage to Rinky Padgaonkar at around 12.30pm and then married sister Pinky Padgaonkar during the same wedding ceremony that was held at Galande Hotel, the report quoted police officials as saying. The Padgaonkar family resides in Chandivali West, Mumbai.
The person who filed the complaint found the marriage objectionable, according to Solapur rural superintendent of police Shirish Sardeshpande. The police will seek permission from the court to proceed in the case.
“A non-cognisable offence has been lodged. We will take the court’s permission and proceed ahead with further investigation. The law states that a person can marry only one woman at a time. We have preliminary information that both sisters are close and wanted to stay together. Further investigation is underway,” HT quoted Sardeshpande as saying.
The legality of the marriage is based upon the Marriage Act, says a legal expert. “Whether the marriage is legal or not has to be checked as per the Marriage Act. The objection to this kind of marriage has to come from the first wife. We need to first find out whether all the marriage-related rituals took place or not,” lawyer Harshad Nimbalkar said, as quoted by the report.