Wow.... SC seems to be on form. First scrapping section 377 (link) and now scrapping adultery law (link). Something good seems to be happening in our country, finally.
Section 497 of the IPC:
// Adultery.—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 offense of rape, is guilty of the offense 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. // - link
So what's the problem?
// Only an adulterous woman’s husband could prosecute her lover, though she could not be punished; an adulterous man’s wife had no such right. //
// Her affair with another would not amount to adultery if it had the consent of her husband. “The history of Section 497 reveals that the law on adultery was for the benefit of the husband, for him to secure ownership over the sexuality of his wife,” Justice D.Y. Chandrachud wrote. “It was aimed at preventing the woman from exercising her sexual agency.” // - link
And this is what the court opined:
// Offense of adultery treats women as a chattel and dents their dignity. //
// How couples deal with adultery is absolutely a matter of privacy. //
// Adultery remains ground for divorce. //
Read more here - link
Looks like it's not long before marital rape is criminalised as well. Fingers crossed.
// In Thursday’s judgment, Justice Chandrachud noted: “Sexual autonomy constitutes an inviolable core of the dignity of every individual. At the heart of the constitutional rights guaranteed to every individual is a primacy of choice and the freedom to determine one’s actions. Curtailing the sexual autonomy of a woman or presuming the lack of consent once she enters a marriage is antithetical to constitutional values.” // - link
And what else is pending? Decriminalising consensual sex between minors is due, to add to list of scraping laws which criminalise consensual sex.
Where consensual sex is rape and forced sex is legal right - link
Related posts:
1. When a woman talks about her sex life as her choice, Patriarchy's control over female sexuality is challenged - link
2. In more good news today... - link
3. Finally something right is happening! - link
Section 497 of the IPC:
// Adultery.—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 offense of rape, is guilty of the offense 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. // - link
So what's the problem?
// Only an adulterous woman’s husband could prosecute her lover, though she could not be punished; an adulterous man’s wife had no such right. //
// Her affair with another would not amount to adultery if it had the consent of her husband. “The history of Section 497 reveals that the law on adultery was for the benefit of the husband, for him to secure ownership over the sexuality of his wife,” Justice D.Y. Chandrachud wrote. “It was aimed at preventing the woman from exercising her sexual agency.” // - link
And this is what the court opined:
// Offense of adultery treats women as a chattel and dents their dignity. //
// How couples deal with adultery is absolutely a matter of privacy. //
// Adultery remains ground for divorce. //
Read more here - link
Looks like it's not long before marital rape is criminalised as well. Fingers crossed.
// In Thursday’s judgment, Justice Chandrachud noted: “Sexual autonomy constitutes an inviolable core of the dignity of every individual. At the heart of the constitutional rights guaranteed to every individual is a primacy of choice and the freedom to determine one’s actions. Curtailing the sexual autonomy of a woman or presuming the lack of consent once she enters a marriage is antithetical to constitutional values.” // - link
And what else is pending? Decriminalising consensual sex between minors is due, to add to list of scraping laws which criminalise consensual sex.
Where consensual sex is rape and forced sex is legal right - link
Related posts:
1. When a woman talks about her sex life as her choice, Patriarchy's control over female sexuality is challenged - link
2. In more good news today... - link
3. Finally something right is happening! - link
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