Adultery

Friends, do you know the present Adultery law as it stands today, allows only men to be legally prosecuted for adultery in a marriage and if a married woman is engaged in relationship with other man outside the marriage than she can not be prosecuted but the person with whom she is having relationship can be charged and legally prosecuted for having adulterous relationship with the married woman. This looks like an ancient law, worse it presumes and treats the woman involved as someone who does not or can not have a will or desire of her own.The law, under section 497 of Indian Police Code (IPC), says that “whoever has sexual relationship with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be wife of another man, without the consent or connivance of that man, such sexual relationship not amounting to rape, is guilty of the offence of adultery and shall be punished with imprisonment of either description, for a term which may extend to 5 years or fine,  or with both. In such case the wife shall not be punished as an abettor.” What an outdated law. An adulterous relationship can not prosper or continue without the consent of both the partner. Now as per this law , if a man wants to have relationship with other man’s wife, then the first man should take permission from the other man to continue with sexual relationship, in reality this can never happen, which man, in normal course, will allow other man to have sexual relationship with his wife.

Recently a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in Supreme Court (SC), which sought striking down of Section 497 of IPC or making both men and women equally liable for the offence of adultery. The petition said that in today’s India , when women are asking equal rights in every field then why only man should be held responsible for adulterous relationship.

Responding to SC, the counsel for Central Govt  cited a 33 years old judgement by SC, where the court had ruled (in Sowmithri Vishnu case) that if section 497 was cancelled, then “adulterous relations will have more free play than now”. it further added that” decriminalisation of adultery law will result in weakening the sanctity of marital bond and laxity in  marital bond”.

The counsel for Central Govt further added ” Striking down Sec 497 of IPC will prove detrimental to the intrinsic Indian ethos, which gives paramount importance to the institution of marriage. This provision have been specifically created by the legislature in its wisdom to protect and safeguard the sanctity of marriage keeping in mind the unique structure of Indian Society.”  I do not understand that how this law can save the institution of marriage in present India.But the Counsel did not say any thing about the other issue raised by the petitioner, about making both men and women equally liable for the crime of adultery.  The comment by Central Govt in this matter was – the issue of equal liability is under consideration of the Law Commission of India. The final report of the Commission is awaited regarding the amendment in section 497.

In my opinion for adulterous sexual relationship both the partners in crime should be held equally responsible. Agreed the law must have been made when the majority of the women were not educated, but the present scenario is different, even the uneducated women  knows what is right and what is wrong in the institution of marriage. The law in present farm can also have an adverse affect, the woman after entering into adulterous relationship knowingly later can deny the same and puts the entire blame on man, then the man can not go anywhere. Similarly there have been many cases come into limelight, where woman has wrongly framed the man in cases under Anti Dowry Law or Harassment  immediately after marriage. And what about Live in relationship- where a woman after spending few years with a man, goes and file the rape charges against him, why, man has mistreated her or refuse to marry her. Some times, I do not understand this Live in relationship business, why people go in for Live in relationship because they want to find out whether they are compatible or not, so that later on they can decide whether they want to marry or not, then how the rape charges come into picture afterwards.

So Friends, what is your opinion in this matter.

Waiting for your feed backs/views/comments.