Supreme Court: Adultery not a crime, strikes down section 497 of IPC

The Supreme Court on Thursday pronounced its verdict on a plea challenging the constitutional validity of section 497, as the 150-year-old adultery law ‘arbitrary’, which punishes only the man for having an extramarital affair, and treats women as ‘property’.

While reading out the verdict, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said today, “There cannot be a shadow of doubt” that it is a ground for divorce.

“Any law which affects individual dignity, equity of women in a civilised society invites the wrath of the Constitution,” CJI Dipak Misra said. He added, “That legal sovereignty of one sex over another is wrong.” He further stated, “Any provision treating woman with inequality is not constitutional.”

The constitutional five justices bench was headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and comprising of Justices RF Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, had reserved their judgement on 8 August, after Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand, appearing for the Centre concluded her arguments.

While, the centre had defended the adultery law saying, it must remain a crime so that the sanctity of marriage can be protected, after a petition called for the law to be scrapped as it does not treat men and women equally.

Justice Chandrachud said, ” Woman after marriage does not pledge her sexual autonomy to her husband and depriving her of choice to have consensual sex with anyone outside marriage cannot be curbed”

The section 497 reads, “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 offence of rape, is guilty of the offence of adultery.”

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