supreme court begins hearing on adultery law · of adultery in the indian pe-nal code treats a...
TRANSCRIPT
Referring to how the off��enceof adultery in the Indian Pe-nal Code treats a woman as a“chattel” or property of herhusband, the SupremeCourt on Wednesday ques-tioned whether adulteryshould be viewed as a crimeat all if it amounts to viola-tion of the right of equalityof a woman.
With this, a fi��ve-judgeConstitution Bench, led byChief Justice of India DipakMisra, began examining
whether the pre-Indepen-dence provision of adultery(Section 497) treats a mar-ried woman as a commodityowned by her husband andviolates the constitutionalconcepts of gender equality.
The petition fi��led by Kera-la-based Joseph Shine, re-
presented by advocates Ka-leeswaram Raj and SuviduttM.S., wants Section 497 tobe dropped as a criminal of-fence from the penal code.
The Constitution Benchwill re-examine a consistentview, dating back to 1954,that adultery as an off��enceshould be retained in the pe-nal code to uphold familyties. Section 497 of the Codemandates that if a man hassexual intercourse withanother’s wife without thehusband’s “consent or con-nivance,” he is guilty of theoff��ence of adultery and shallbe punished.
Secondly, the provisiondoes not confer any right onthe wife to prosecute herhusband for adultery.
Bench to examineif it violatesgender equalityLegal CorrespondentNEW DELHI
The petition was fi��led byKerala-based Joseph Shine.
Supreme Court beginshearing on adultery law