NEW DELHI: The Centre on Wednesday defended the validity of section 497 of the Indian Penal Code before the Supreme Court, stating that adultery was a crime because it damaged marriage and the family and therefore it was a public wrong.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra reserved its order on a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the penal law on adultery.
The court questioned the government's stand defending the adultery law, which punishes married men while absolving married women who are involved in a relationship outside their marriage.
The CJI asked the Centre how the penal provision preserved the sanctity of marriage when an extramarital affair would be non-punishable if the woman's husband stood by her.
Arguing on behalf of the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand said, "In India, marriage is a sacred institution, so any intrusion into that is something which should attract penal consequences."
"Where is the sanctity of marriage when the husband can consent?" asked Justice R F Nariman.
The Chief Justice further said, "We are not questioning the legislature's competence to make laws, but where is the 'collective good' in Section 497 of IPC?"
The ASG responded, "We, in India, must evolve our laws according to the societal developments and not go by what happens in western countries or other societies. The idea of section 497 is not to enforce monogamy but protect fidelity in marriage, which is part of the promise made by parties to a marriage."
Anand also said that judgments in foreign jurisdictions setting aside adultery as a criminal offence should not be taken into account and the instant matter should be decided on the basis of the social conditions prevailing in India.
Referring to inconsistencies in the penal provision, the bench posed that the burden of maintaining the sanctity of marriage rested only with the husband and not the woman.