Constitutional Invalidity of Adultery: Section 497 IPC Struck Down on Equality and Privacy Grounds

sketch of the Supreme Court of India
Case
JOSEPH SHINE v. UNION OF INDIA (Supreme Court of India, 27-09-2018)
Law
Code of Criminal Procedure, Constitution of India, Indian Penal Code.

Highlights of the Judgment:

  • Detailed constitutional scrutiny of Section 497 IPC and Section 198 CrPC regarding the criminalization of adultery.
  • Application of the tests of manifest arbitrariness and substantive equality under Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution.
  • Examination of the right to privacy, individual autonomy, and sexual agency as facets of Article 21.
  • Critique of historical patriarchal doctrines treating married women as the property or chattel of their husbands.
  • Overruling of earlier precedents including Sowmithri Vishnu and V. Revathi.