Section 497: All you need to know about adultery law
The Supreme Court will pronounce its verdict on India's adultery law (Section 497 of IPC) on September 27. The law is regarded as discriminatory as it punishes only a married man for extramarital sexual relationship with a married woman. While the Centre defended it saying it preserves the institution of marriage, the court asked "where is the 'collective good' in it?" when reserving the verdict.
What is Section 497 all about?
Section 497 of Indian Penal Code means sexual intercourse by a man with a married woman without her husband's consent amounts to adultery, and the man is held liable for the crime. Mind you, just the man. The law doesn't punish the adulterous woman. Further, under the law, a wife doesn't have any right to prosecute the adulterous husband, or the other woman involved.
The Joseph Shine petition
The petition filed by Joseph Shine challenges Section 497 of the IPC, which leads to prosecution of a man in an adulterous relationship with a married woman, but lets off the woman. It also challenges Section 198 that allows an aggrieved husband of a married woman in adulterous relationship to lodge a complaint but not the aggrieved wife of the adulterous man.
Further details about the PIL
The PIL also questions the validity of these sections stating they violate Articles 14 (Equality before law), 15 (Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth) and 21 (Protection of life and personal liberty) of the Constitution of India.
What has the SC said till date?
Replying to the petition, the court, on August 2, said it's strange that 497 didn't attract the offense of adultery if an unmarried man had relationship with a married woman. It said it wondered how such a provision was permitted that overlooked the offense of adultery when a married man had sex with another married woman with the consent or connivance of her husband.
The SC speaks
On the next hearing on August 8, the court had questioned the Centre as how 497 preserved the "sanctity" of marriage when the extra-marital affair became non-punishable if the woman's husband stood by her. "The sanctity of marriage is dependent on mutual reciprocity, willingness for adjustments and accommodations and there is no permanent consent for sex by wife in marriage," the CJI had said.
SC's response to make the law gender-neutral
In response to the government's plea that the court should make the law gender-neutral and extend the offense to women in such relationships, Justice Chandrachud replied that the court can't widen the canvas of an offense but narrow it down. "Even if we made Section 497 of the IPC gender-neutral it would address the issue of punishing the man and sparing the woman, but we still have to decide whether it should be a crime at all," he had said.
