NEW DELHI: Almost no modern society based on the rule of secular law treats
adultery as a criminal offence. Surveys show that in many countries, including in the industrialised West, a majority of the population views adultery as morally unacceptable. They, however, have the good sense to recognize that this is in the realm of personal morality and the state should stay out of it. It is time we reached the same conclusion and scrapped the IPC provision that criminalises adultery. Using laws to enforce faithfulness in marriage is as absurd as making it legally mandatory for husband and wife to love each other.
Govt: Going soft on adultery will destroy institution of marriage
The Centre has argued that removing the provision that holds men guilty of adultery and not women will wreak havoc on the institution of marriage. It held that men and women cannot be seen as equal partners in the crime of adultery and Section 497 of IPC should not be decriminalised.
