32-year-old man marries transwoman in Odisha with wife's 'consent'

Bhubaneswar, Sep 13: In a rare incident, that took place in Odisha's Kalahandi district, a 32-year-old man married a transwoman at a temple with the prior approval of his wife, who has not only accepted their marriage but agreed to stay with the transwoman under the same roof.

According to a report by the Time of India, the man was in love with this transwoman and was dating her for the past one year.

After the wife found out about their affair, instead of making a mess out of everything, she accepted her fate and happily agreed to accept the 'marriage' between her husband and transwoman with her blessing and allowed them to stay together as one family.

After obtaining his wife's approval, the man solemnised his marriage with the transwoman at a small function in the presence of limited guests, including members of the transgender community, at a temple in Narla.

It is to noted that in the Hindu religion unless the first marriage is legally dissolved, the second marriage is considered illegal by law. Although, no objections were made by the man's wife or any other party in this regard.

However, Narla police inspector Gangadhar Meher said that if any third party reports a complaint regarding the marriage, then the police will have to take action against the man. However, the newlywed couple, who didn't wish to be identified, said they are very happy about the union. "Even my wife is happy and we are not concerned about the law," said the man.

Meanwhile, president of the Transgender Association in the area Kamini, who took a lead in organising the wedding of the duo, said, "After the wedding, we also went to the police station to inform them about the marriage...the police said they have little to do in the matter."