CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Information Commission has requested the Law Commission to clarify the procedure and punishment for adultery, in view of the decriminalization of Section 497 of the IPC by the Supreme Court.
State Information Commissioner S Muthuraj issued a directive to this effect recently, to the State Law Commission, as he met with a piquant situation when a wife approached the Commission seeking details about her estranged husband, who illegally married another woman. Doubting whether her husband, an employee of MWS&S Board, nominated the second wife as his nominee and legal heir, she prayed the panel to furnish the details.
Wondering whether the plea could be accommodated, Muthuraj sought for clarification from the State Law Commission within two months.
Legally, the second marriage is considered void if the first marriage still persists. Section 494 of the IPC stipulates the punishment for bigamy, unless second marriage comes under the exception (divorce decreed by courts) provided in this section. There is no clear rule in the IPC dealing with - what if a government servant commits this crime and who is the authority to complain?
Though adultery is decriminalized now by the Supreme Court, it is still one of the grounds for divorce under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act. If one of the spouses commits suicide because of the adulterous activity of the other, then the culprit could be processed against, for the offence of abetting suicide. But this goes unaware and misunderstood by the public in view of the Supreme Court orders decriminalizing adultery.
There are instances of either spouse approaching the police for the adultery-act of the other and the police refusing to accept the complaint in view of the decriminalization order of the Apex Court. The main purpose behind decriminalizing Sec. 497 of the IPC was that it infringed the equality clause enshrined in Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution. But the courts still hold that adultery is against the natural justice and does not allow people to have illicit relationship, Muthuraj noted.
A study conducted by the Commission and the experience shows that most of the persons, both men and women, do commit adultery and bigamy as they have no knowledge on the implications that are caused, to them and to the society. Their children are the ultimate victims. The panel was also flooded with similar petitions under the RTI Act, seeking particulars about government servants who develop illegal affairs after first marriage, contract second marriage, suppressing the first one. They easily change spouse particulars and nominees in office records, Muthuraj noted.
Why Sec 497 decriminalised
There are instances of either spouse approaching the police for the adultery-act of the other and the police refusing to accept the complaint in view of the decriminalization order of the Apex Court. The main purpose behind decriminalizing Sec. 497 of the IPC was that it infringed the equality clause enshrined in Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution, noted State Information Commissioner S Muthuraj