ADULTERY DECLARED AS UNCONSTITUTIONAL BY SUPREME COURT

Supreme Court has struck down 158 Year Old Section 497 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) which criminalizes adultery, as unconstitutional. Writ petition named Joseph Shine v. Union of India was filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India questioning the validity of Section 497 of IPC. A five-judge Constitution bench observed that, Section 497 is a denial of substantive equality as it perpetuates the subordinate status ascribed to women in marriage and society. Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra said adultery can be a ground for divorce but not a criminal offence. CJI Misra and Justice Khanwilkar said that, mere adultery cannot be a crime, but if any aggrieved spouse commits suicide because of life partner’s adulterous relation, then if evidence produced, it could be treated as an abetment to suicide.