reagarding IPC 494/495

Hello,

Your friend can file complaint to local police station. He can also file divorce petition it is good ground for divorce. 

No that's not true its a criminal case of bigamy under section 494 and 495 first u need to file an FIR with  all proofs of his wife's first marriage.If  police cannot file an FIR then u may proceed to session court and also file Divorce case at Family court.

In mu understanding, it is the first husband who is the aggrieved person and he alone is the person can file a complaint. In fact, the second marriage is invalid and the second husband has no standing in the eyes of the law.

It is a criminal case. It is clear cut bigamy. 

When wife cheats, it is bigamy. When husband cheats, it is rape also. 

It  is a criminal matter in both cases. If the parties are Hindu, the case is of criminal matter under section 17 of the Hindu Marriage Act as well. The punishment may extend to 7 or 10 years under the two acts. 

As it is a non-cognizable offence, you have to make a complaint in the court of magistrate. 

Now, these are the provisions why the lawyer is getting confused. 

1. In case the girl was minor when she married the adult boy, then she will not be punished.

2. Women are not put into civil imprisonment.

I am sorry that in my earlier reply, I had overlooked the provisions of Section 495 IPC. This section punishes a person who commits bigamy by concealing the former marriage from the person with whom he contracts the subsequent marriage. The section states that whoever commits the offence of marrying again during the lifetime of the husband or wife, as the case may be, as defined in section 494, having concealed the fact of the former marriage from the person with whom the subsequent marriage is contracted, shall be punished with simple or rigorous imprisonment extending up to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

As such, your friend can initiate a criminal action. The offence is cognizable a bailable except in the State of Andhra Pradesh (may be, Telengana too) where it is non-cognizable and non-bailable. 

In terms of Section 198 CrPC, it is the aggrieved person alone who can make the complaint.