Adultery must remain a punishable offence: Centre
News:
- Recently, the Centre contended that adultery should remain a crime to protect the institution of marriage
Important Facts:
- The Centre has opposed a petition before the Supreme Court that challenges the constitutionality of Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code
- The petition challenges the validity of Section 198 (1) and (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which states that that only a husband can be an aggrieved party in adultery and only he can go to court
- According to Section 497 if a man has sexual intercourse with another’s wife without the husband’s “consent or connivance”, he is guilty of the offence of adultery and shall be punished”.
- Critics of the Section 497 opine that the provision undermines individual independent identity of a woman as it treats woman as a mere property of her husband. This leads to subordination of a woman while the Constitution confers women equal status
