Over the years, India has faced many Adultery cases. Is it okay to have a sexual relationship with someone when married to someone else? The Supreme Court has declared section 497 of IPC as unconstitutional which included adultery as an offence.
Section 497 of IPC
As per section 497 of IPC of the constitution, “Whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of another man, without the consent or connivance of that man, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offense of rape, is guilty of the offense of adultery, and shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both. In such case, the wife shall not be punishable as an abettor.”
Questions raised by section 497
Section 497 of IPC raises a lot of doubts and disputes as it clearly states that the married woman who is having a sexual relationship with someone other than her husband shall not be punished. Husband is allowed to take actions against that man and the man either receives a fine or 5 years of imprisonment and in some cases both. Why is the woman who is cheating is not punished? Why are married women treated as people with mental disability under IPC? Why aren’t man and woman receiving equal weight under the law? And more importantly, why is adultery considered as a criminal offense?
Process in Supreme Court
The verdict was a five-judge bench consisting Chief Justice Depak Misra and Judges A M Khanwilkar, R F Nariman, Indu Malhotra, D Y Chandrachud. Some of the main events of the verdict:
- CJI Depak Misra and Judge Khanwilkar claimed adultery cannot be treated as a crime unless any suicide occurs due the relation as it could be considered as a reason for the suicide.
- Chief Justice Dipak Misra held that adultery can be the reason for divorce but it isn’t for a criminal offense.
- Chief Justice Dipak Misra added equality is a Human right and also a governing principle and the husband don’t have ownership over his wife.
- Judge D Y Chandrachud proclaimed that adultery is an outdated relic and section 497 destroys the base dignity and self-respect of women as it treats women as slaves to the husband.
- The only woman in the bench, Judge Indu Malhotra claimed section 497 is unconstitutional.
- Judge D Y Chandrachud said that section 497 is unconstitutional because it does not give the power of choice for women about their sexuality.
- Our CJI beautifully claimed that “Adultery might not be the cause of an unhappy marriage, it could be the result of an unhappy marriage”.
And finally, section 497 of IPC was declared unconstitutional.