'SC verdict will give license to people to have illegitimate relationships'

The Supreme Court verdict declaring that adultery is not a crime was welcomed by many on Thursday but some experts sounded a note of caution, calling it anti-women and warning that it could give a license to people to have "illegitimate" relationships.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra unanimously struck down Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code dealing with the offence of adultery, holding it manifestly arbitrary, archaic and violative of the rights to equality and equal opportunity to women.

Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal said decriminalising adultery completely is just going to add to the pain of women in the country.

"Totally disagree with the Supreme Court judgement on adultery. The judgement is anti-women. In a way, you have given a open general license to the people of this country to be in marriages but at the same time have illegitimate relationships," she said.

"What is the sanctity of marriage?" she asked.

Social activist Brinda Adige also sought clarity and asked whether the verdict allows polygamy.

"Because we know that men very often marry two, three times and there is so much of problem when the first, second or third wife are abandoned. If adultery is not a crime, how is this woman even going to file a case against the husband who might desert or abandon her. It's a concern," she said.

Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury agreed with her.

"This is like criminalising the triple talaq law. They have done that but now the men will just abandon us or not give us talaq. They will have polygamy or nikah hallala which creates hell for us as women. I am glad it's not a crime anymore but I do not see how it helps. The court should... give us clarity," she said.

The Supreme Court bench also held that adultery would continue to be treated as civil wrong and can be ground for dissolution of marriage.

There can't be any social licence which destroys a home, the chief justice said.

Section 497 of the 158-year-old IPC says: "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."

The Supreme Court's judgement is a "positive" step towards achieving equal rights for all and upholds individual dignity, Amnesty International India said.

"In a progressive judgment safeguarding individual dignity, sexual autonomy and freedom from discrimination, the Supreme Court has declared Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code to be constitutionally invalid.

"Section 497 is a colonial-era law, which has no place in a modern society. It is remnant of a time when a woman was considered to be the property of her husband," said Asmita Basu, Programmes Director, Amnesty India.

Basu said, "This is a positive step towards achieving equal rights for all. We look towards the court with renewed hope for many such gender-sensitive judgments in the future."