Junking penal law on adultery will destroy sanctity of marriage: Centre to SC

Striking down section 497 of the Indian Penal Code which provides for punishment only to a man for having extramarital sexual ties with the wife of another man will destroy the institution of marriage the Centre told the Supreme Court on WednesdayIn an affidavit to the apex court the Ministry of Home Affairs sought dismissal of a plea challenging the validity of the penal law on adultery saying that the Section 497 supports safeguards and protects the institution of marriageIt is submitted that striking down section 497 of IPC and Section 1982 of the CrPC will prove to be detrimental to the intrinsic Indian ethos which gives paramount importance to the institution and sanctity of marriageThe provisions of law under challenge in the present writ have been specifically created by the legislature in its wisdom to protect and safeguard the sanctity of marriage keeping in mind the unique structure and culture of the Indian society the plea saidThe Centre also referred to Justice Malimath Committee report on reforms in the criminal justice system which had suggested making section 497 genderneutralThe affidavit said the Law Commission of India was currently examining the issues and they have identified certain focus areas and formed sub groups to deliberate on such areasIt is submitted that the final report of Law Commission is awaited regarding the amendment to section 497 of the IPC The Malimath Committee in its report has held that the object of this section is to preserve the sanctity of the marriageThe decriminalisation of adultery will result in weakening the sanctity of a marital bond and will result in its laxity it saidSection 497 of the 158yearold IPC says Whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of another man without the consent or connivance of that man such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape is guilty of the offence of adultery and shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years or with fine or with both In such case the wife shall not be punishable as an abettorThe top court had referred the PIL challenging the constitutional validity of the adultery law to the Constitution Bench in January this year The PIL had been filed by one Joseph Shine an expatriate Indian living in ItalyThe apex court had earlier sought the Centres stand on the PIL which pointed out that only men can be punished for the offence of adultery for having consensual sex with the wife of another manJoseph in his plea said that Section 497 was prima facie unconstitutional on the grounds that it discriminates against men and violates Article 14 15 and 21 of the ConstitutionHe said when the sexual intercourse takes place with the consent of both the parties there is no good reason for excluding one party from the liabilityThe plea also said the provision also indirectly discriminated against women by holding an erroneous presumption that they are the property of menThis is further evidenced by the fact that if adultery is engaged with the consent of the husband of the woman then such act seizes to be an offence punishable under the code it saidThe plea said the provision has been treated to be constitutionally valid in three verdicts of the apex court respectively in 1954 1985 and in 1988The petitioner also challenged Section 1982 of CrPC which deals with the prosecution for offences against marriagesCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in the headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever