ADULTERY

Adultery is an act committed by a married partner/ person wherein the other married partner/ person establishes physical relationship  with a person other than his/her wife/husband.

Section 497 of Indian Penal Code: Adultery

Section 497 of Indian Penal Code described Adultery as: “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 a case, the wife shall not be punishable as an abettor”.

This law has been struck down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the landmark judgment of Joseph Shine vs Union Of India on 27 September 2018. According to the enactment it was observed that it did not allow married women to file a complaint against their partner/husband having sexual relationships with other women. 

One of the main reasons for striking this law was the said law was men centric, incorporated solely for the male counterpart in a married relationship The adultery law failed to consider the existence of women in the eyes of law and was regarded as the property of their husbands.

On September 27th, 2018, in the case of Joseph Shine v. Union of India, the Supreme Court of India struck down the 158-year-old Victorian morality law on adultery. Now, it is no longer considered a crime.

The court held that adultery could be, Adultery is only considered a valid ground for divorce AND should not be treated as a criminal offense.

Link of the Judgement: Judgement