Adultery:A 150-Year-Old Battle Fought by the Indian Judicial System
Keywords:
Supreme Court, Adultery, Section 497, Marriage, Ultra vires, Constitution of India, Indian penal codeAbstract
The battle fought for the protection of the individuality of women and to make marriage in India gender neutral, the Honorable Supreme Court of India finally on 27th September 2018 concluded the battle by making provision of Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, unconstitutional byremoving the master and property relationship, where a husband is considered to be the master and wife as property in the marriage. It is a necessary step taken by the court to promote women empowerment and to provide gender equality in India. At the end of 150 years, the Supreme Court decided to make adultery a civil wrong and remove it as a criminal offence, i.e., it is still a ground for divorce which is available to both the parties.
References
1. Rao CV. Legitimacy of adultery laws in India.
2. Mahapatra D.Why was adultery law enacted in 1860, why it had to go now .Sep 28 2018.
3. Jain M.Husband is not the master of wife . SC Strikes down 158-Year-Old Adultery Law under Section 497 IPC.Sep 27 2018.
4. Jain AK. Criminal Law –I [ Indian Penal Code]: Fifth Edition: Shakti Nagar, Delhi: Ascent Publications. 2015-2016
5. Jain AK. Family Law – I [ Hindu and Muslim Law] : Seventh Edition: Shakti Nagar, Delhi: Ascent Publications . 2016- 2017
6. Joseph Shine Vs Union of India. AIR 2017 SC.
7. AIR 2017 SC.
8. Indian Penal Code 1860.
9. Sowmithri Vishnu Vs Union of India, AIR 1985 SC 1618. Cite this Article Ambika Saksena . Adultery: A 150 -Year- Old Battle Fought by the Indian Judicial System. National Journal of Criminal Law; 2(1): 1–3p.
