The Supreme Court overturned a Madras High Court decision and sentenced a woman and her second husband to six months in jail each for bigamy, criticizing the earlier court's leniency as a "flea-bite sentence."

The woman remarried while her divorce proceedings were ongoing in a family court. A Supreme Court bench, headed by Justices CT Ravikumar and PV Sanjay Kumar, emphasized that bigamy is a "serious offence with societal implications," cautioning against leniency in sentencing the accused.

However, to ensure the care of the couple's six-year-old child, the Supreme Court ordered that the husband serve his sentence first. After he completes his term, the woman is required to surrender to serve her sentence.

"This arrangement shall not be treated as a precedent as it was ordered in these special circumstances," the top court said.

The Supreme Court was addressing a petition filed by the woman's first husband challenging a Madras High Court order that had initially sentenced the couple to just a day's confinement "till the rising of the court." The top court criticized the Madras High Court for issuing a "flea-bite sentence" that it deemed inadequate for such a serious offence.

"In the matter of awarding sentence for conviction of an offence which may impact the society, it is not advisable to let off an accused after conviction with a flea-bite sentence ... in the absence of any exceptional circumstances, [Courts must] impose sentence in tune with the rule of proportionality in providing punishment though it falls within the realm of judicial discretion." it observed.