SC won’t make adultery law an offence for women

The Supreme Court fivejudge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra on Wednesday indicated that it will not touch the adultery law to make it an offence for women, too. Rather, it will examine if it should remain a criminal offence at all.

Section 497 of the IPC makes adultery an offence only with respect to a man who has a relationship with somebody's wife. The wife is considered neither adulterous nor an abettor in law, while the man faces a jail term of up to five years.

Another peculiar aspect of Section 497 is the fact that the bottom falls out of the offence if consent or connivance of the husband can be established.

The Bench, citing this part of the 15-year-old law, on Wednesday said that the entire Section will be struck down if it is held violative of right to equality of women, who are treated inferior to their husbands.

During the brief hearing, the Bench further observed that adultery is already a ground of divorce.

A PIL moved by a Kerala native Joseph Shine has urged the apex court to take a relook at the validity of Section 497 on the grounds that it was discriminatory and carried gender bias. It also pointed out that a complete immunity from criminal prosecution was sought to be given to women under Article 15(3), which is primarily meant for granting affirmative rights to certain sections but not to shield them from prosecution.