Section 497 read that when a man, knowingly, gets into an affair with a woman who is married to someone else, without the consent of the husband, can be punished, making adultery a criminal offense. Also, the woman so involved is not prosecuted and the man or the paramour of the woman is considered to be the culprit.
The section has been squashed for the reason of being ancient and something that doesn’t fit into the existing society anymore. Also, this law, saved the woman who had consented for the affair and held the paramour wrong when equality demands both to be treated alike in case of a wrongful act, especially when the women in the today’s society are well read and educated and cannot be coaxed into an extramarital relationship like the earlier times when education was only for men.
What had made the law objectionable was that if the spouse (Husband) agreed to the extramarital affair of his wife, the adulterer was safe and the affair wasn’t an offense. This made the woman the property of the man and would have made even an affair outside one’s marriage legal if the husband consented to it. The Supreme court held “what is the sanctity of marriage here. If the consent of the husband is taken, then there is no adultery? … “What is this consent? There will be no offense if the husband consents to this relationship? What is this? What is the collective public good in Section 497 to hold that this (adultery) is an offense”.
Justice DY Chandrachud said while holding Section 497 as invalid, “Section 497 perpetuates subordinate status of women, denies dignity, sexual autonomy, is based on gender stereotypes. Adultery could be a moral wrong towards spouse and family but the question is whether it should be a criminal offense?”
Supreme Court judge Justice Rohinton Nariman said, “Section 497 an archaic law, manifestly arbitrary. The Ancient notion of man being perpetrator and woman being a victim no longer holds good.”
Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said “Adultery might not be the cause of an unhappy marriage, it could be the result of an unhappy marriage.” says CJI Dipak Misra. “In case of adultery, the criminal law expects people to be loyal which is a command which gets into the realm of privacy.”
In a way, adultery can be used by the spouse to get divorced and the same can be taken as a civil wrong but it doesn’t stand well as a criminal offense anymore.
For all the reasons explained above, the country has accepted the verdict of the court as final and the same shall be applicable on the citizens of the country until the legislature comes up with a new rule to subdue the apex court’s decision.