Sobhraj faces bigamy charge if he remarries

Charles Gurumukh Sobhraj, who is serving a life term on murder charge, may have to stay behind the bars for three more years if he marries Nepali national Nihita Biswas after Sobhraj is already married to Chantal, who lives in France. He also has a wife in Australia.“He may get ... ...three-year jail term for bigamy,” prosecutor Surendra Thapa told this daily. “A legally-married person cannot remarry.if ties the knot with Nihita Biswas,” Thapa added. The 11th amendment to the Civil Code has increased the jail term for bigamists from three months to three years. Section (9) of the Marriage Chapter prohibits men from remarrying if first wife is not legally separated and is alive.Section 9 (a) of the code allows a man to remarry if his first wife has gone mad, has got divorce after getting alimony or is dead.“We will investigate if Sobhraj remarries the Nepali girl and a complaint will be lodged against him,” Thapa said. Anyone can file such a complaint if the first wife and the victim are unwilling to do so.A foreigner cannot get married in Nepal unless he/she obtains a no-objection letter or certificate from the embassy concerned.“As marriages have to be registered here, foreigners cannot get married in line with social customs. They should opt for court marriage,” Thapa added. However, Sobhraj can marry Biswas if he gets divorce from his wives and gets no objection letter from the embassy concerned.“There is no eyewitness to prove Sobhraj’s reported engagement with Biswas. I think this is a rumour. Sobhraj may face legal consequences if he marries the girl,” Shankar Aryal, jailer of the Central Jail, said.“Law of the land recognises bigamy as a crime against the state. Sobhraj may be prosecuted here if he remarries the Nepali girl,” a women’s rights activist and Constituent Assembly member Sapana Pradhan Malla said.Sobhraj should be punished in Nepal if he remarries by violating the law of the land, Malla said.Superintendent of Police Sarvendra Khanal said, “As we do not know anything about Sobhraj’s reported engagement, we do not want to comment on the matter.

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