T. Armstrong Changsan, India’s Ambassador to Cuba and an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer from the 1997 batch, is caught in a legal and personal controversy for allegedly having two wives.

Before his current role, he served as a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs and was appointed as Ambassador to Cuba in March 2024.

Originally from the Kuki tribe, Changsan married his first wife in a church ceremony in 1994 under the Christian Marriage Act. They have a daughter together. Later, following traditional village customs in Assam, elders dissolved the marriage, and he remarried. He also has a daughter from his second marriage.However, in 2022, the Gauhati High Court ruled that the first marriage could not be dissolved by customs alone. Since the marriage was performed under the Christian Marriage Act, it must legally be ended through a court under the Divorce Act, 1869. So, the court declared the second marriage invalid and considered the situation as bigamy (having two wives).

Now facing legal trouble, Changsan has approached the Supreme Court for help. The top court, led by Justice Surya Kant, recently tried to mediate but couldn’t reach a resolution. However, the court agreed with the earlier judgment and didn’t excuse Changsan’s actions.

The first wife has asked the court to protect her dignity, saying she raised their 29-year-old daughter on her own and accused Changsan of manipulating their daughter.

In response, Changsan’s lawyer, Menaka Guruswamy, claimed he has been supporting his daughter financially in Bengaluru, provided a house for his first wife in Delhi, and pays her ₹20,000 monthly.

The Supreme Court made it clear they had no sympathy for Changsan and acknowledged the suffering of the first wife. They advised her to think about moving on with her life.

Noting the importance of the daughter in resolving the matter, the court instructed Changsan to pay ₹3 lakh for the daughter’s travel and stay so she could meet with her parents and possibly assist in finding a resolution.