Centre’s stand on adultery anachronistic, says apex court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday scoffed at the government’s stand that adultery laws, which make the offence punishable for men, were required to protect the “sanctity” of marriage and the family as a unit.

A five-judge bench was hearing petitions some of which sought that Section 497 of the IPC, which is skewed against men, be made gender-neutral and others that demanded that criminality attached to infidelity be removed. The court reserved its order as arguments concluded on Wednesday.

During the hearing, the court suggested that the government stand may be at odds with the times when marriage was not an institution of any permanence. “The concept of consent has crept in even into marriages,” CJI Dipak Misra observed. “Marriage no longer implies permanent consent,” he observed. “Where’s the sanctity (of marriage) when the husband can consent to the act,” asked Justice RF Nariman.