Adultery no more a crime; husband is not the master of his wife: Supreme Court

News Network
September 27, 2018

New Delhi, Sept 27: In a historic judgement, the Supreme Court of India on Thursday struck down Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code that made adultery a criminal offence.

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices RF Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra was unanimous in its judgement that held Section 497 as unconstitutional. While holding that adultery is manifestly arbitrary, the court said the act can be a ground for divorce and a person will have civil remedies for it.

The CJI and Justice Khanwilkar said, "We declare Section 497 IPC and Section 198 of CrPC dealing with the prosecution of offences against marriage as unconstitutional".

Reading out his part of the judgement, CJI Misra, who retires early next month, said mere adultery cannot be a crime, unless it attracts the scope of Section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the Indian Penal Code.

Adultery law verdict - Highlights

“Equality is the governing principle of a system. Husband is not the master of the wife,” the CJI said, adding “the magnificent beauty of the democracy is I, you and we”.

The Chief Justice noted that an unhappy marriage might not be a result of adultery but vice versa. He pointed out that adultery is not a criminal offence in countries like China, Japan and Australia.

Justice Indu Malhotra described Section 497 as “a clear violation of fundamental rights granted in the Constitution”. There is no justification for the continuation of Section 497 of IPC, she concurred.

Justice Chandrachud, on his part, said Section 497 is denial of substance of equality as it imposes “a condition on the sexuality of women by making adultery as an offence.” He held the law as a “relic of the past”.

Justice RF Nariman, meanwhile, termed Section 497 dealing with adultery as an archaic law. He concurred with the CJI and Justice Khanwilkar, describing the penal provision under the law as violative of the rights to equality and equal opportunity to women.

Section 497 of the IPC read: "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 abettor."

Comments

sam
 - 
Thursday, 27 Sep 2018

Ohhh....whats going on in india under name of democracy....

Ramprasad
 - 
Thursday, 27 Sep 2018

Strange. SC promoting adultery

Unknown
 - 
Thursday, 27 Sep 2018

Soon rape will be legalised.. 

Kumar
 - 
Thursday, 27 Sep 2018

No need of marriages and SC should legalise pornography. Should start pornography industry (just like other film industry) in India like US. 

Danish
 - 
Thursday, 27 Sep 2018

Rubbish. What is the point in marriage

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coastaldigest.com news network
June 16,2020

Mangaluru, Jun 16: Dakshina Kannada today reported 79 fresh covid-19 cases, taking the total infections in the coastal district to 370.

Out of the 79 positive cases, 75 persons had returned from Saudi Arabia. All of them have been shifted to the designated COVID hospital in Mangaluru for treatment.

As many as 11 persons today discharged from the hospital taking the total number of discharges to 145. There are 217 active cases in the district. 

Udupi district today reported 7 new covid cases taking the total to 1035. Among them 817 have discharged from the hospitals including today’s 81. The number of active cases is 217.

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News Network
February 10,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 10: After many twists and turns, veteran Congress leader Mallikarjuna Kharge is emerging as the frontrunner for the KPCC president’s post, party sources revealed.

Though the names of DK Shivakumar and MB Patil did the rounds sometime ago, the party high command could not decide on an apt candidate, and had to widen its horizon looking for a leader who can take all factions along, and they seem to have zeroed in on Kharge.

But the senior Dalit leader is also in the reckoning for the more important All-India Congress Committee president’s post after he successfully stitched up an alliance, despite all odds, between the Congress and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. He is understandably reluctant to take up the KPCC post. “The central leadership has given him some time to consider the KPCC offer,” the sources said.

The high command would rather go with Kharge as he is politically a far bigger force than Shivakumar and M B Patil and the party central leadership wants a safe pair of hands to handle the affairs of the state, the sources said. Also, senior leaders Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar and M B Patil cannot raise a voice against Kharge if he is elected to the post, they said.

Kharge was the Pradesh Congress chief in 2008 when the BJP was in power under B S Yediyurappa. An old warhorse, Kharge is seen as an able administrator and taskmaster. He had won a record 11 elections on the trot before he was defeated in the Kalaburgi Parliamentary Constituency by his former protege Dr Umesh Jadhav in the last election.

Sources said that the high command will not consider Shivakumar for the top slot till he comes out clean in all the legal cases against him.

It is exactly two months since Dinesh Gundurao resigned as KPCC president after the party managed to win just two out of the 15 Assembly constituencies that went for by-elections. Siddarmaiah too resigned on the same day owning moral responsibility for the loss, but the party has decided to continue with him as the assembly opposition leader, while looking for a replacement for Gundurao. 

The high command sent senior central leaders  Madhusudhan Mistry and Bhakta Charan Das on December 20 to sort out the issue of KPCC president. Though they met the state leaders and held high-level meetings in Delhi, they could not decide on a candidate. Meanwhile, the central leadership has asked Gundurao to continue in the post, till a replacement is found.

‘Congress will protest against scrapping reservation’

Bengaluru: “RSS-BJP is against reservation and have been trying to scrap it for sometime now,’’ said senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday. He stated that the Congress would take up the issue for a determined agitation both inside and outside the parliament. He said they must file a petition against this. His reaction comes after the SC recently took a decision where the top court had maintained that reservation in promotions was not a fundamental right.

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News Network
May 4,2020

Bengaluru, May 4: Former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy on Sunday said that the health of the migrants who have been allowed to move, should not be jeopardized and appropriate tests must be conducted.

"The task was to send the workers to their places. However, their health should not be jeopardized. This decision made for their benefit should not be a travesty for them. There will also be physical interference on the buses and appropriate tests must be done," said Kumaraswamy.

"The lockdown, which was implemented without any prerequisites, is now loosened without warning. The state government, which has allowed migrant workers to move to the city, has mobilized large numbers of people. By this, the government is playing with their health," he added.

He continued saying that the government should not lose out on an unscientific move that resulted in the loss of thousands of crores of rupees from a custodial lockdown.

"Workers and villages must be sober. The government must take all necessary precautions in this regard," he added.

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