Supreme Court scraps Adultery law

New Delhi: Adultery is no more a crime. A five-judge bench of Supreme Court today unanimously scrapped 158-year old adultery law – section 497 – and said ‘Adultery can be ground for civil issues including dissolution of marriage but it cannot be a criminal offense.’

A non-resident Keralite – Joseph Shine – had filed plea terming the 150-year-old law “unjust, illegal and arbitrary and violative of citizens’ fundamental rights”.

The Supreme Court said the law was unconstitutional and fell foul of Article 21 (Right to life and personal liberty) and Article 14 (Right to equality).

“When the sexual intercourse takes place with the consent of both the parties, there is no good reason for excluding one party from the liability,” the PIL said.

Punishment for adultery crime in India is imprisonment for 5 years, or fine, or both. As per adultery law, a man can be punished for having a sexual relationship with a married woman without consent of her husband. Petitioners wanted Section 497 of IPC to be made gender neutral.