Social Construction of Behaviour
Group B: Adultery
India's top court has ruled adultery is no longer a crime, striking down a 158-year-old
colonial-era law which it said treated women as male property. Previously any man who had
sex with a married woman, without the permission of her husband, had committed a crime.
A petitioner had challenged the law saying it was arbitrary and discriminated against men
and women. It is not clear how many men have been prosecuted under the law - there is no
data available. This is the second colonial-era law struck down by India's Supreme Court this
month - it also overturned a 157-year-old law which effectively criminalised gay sex in India.
While reading out the judgement on adultery, Chief Justice Dipak Misra said that while it
could be grounds for civil issues like divorce, "it cannot be a criminal offence".
Last August, Joseph Shine, a 41-year-old Indian businessman living in Italy, petitioned the
Supreme Court to strike down the law. He argued that it discriminated against men by only
holding them liable for extra-marital relationships, while treating women like objects.
"Married women are not a special case for the purpose of prosecution for adultery. They are
not in any way situated differently than men," his petition said.
The law, Mr Shine said, also "indirectly
discriminates against women by holding an
erroneous presumption that women are the
property of men". In his 45-page petition, Mr
Shine liberally quotes from American poet
Ralph Waldo Emerson, women rights activist
Mary Wollstonecraft and former UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan on gender equality and the
rights of women. However, India's ruling BJP government had opposed the petition, insisting
that adultery should remain a criminal offence. "Diluting adultery laws will impact the
sanctity of marriages. Making adultery legal will hurt marriage bonds," a government
counsel told the court, adding that "Indian ethos gives paramount importance to the
institution and sanctity of marriage".
The law dictated that the woman could not be punished as an abettor. Instead, the man was
considered to be a seducer. It also did not allow women to file a complaint against an
adulterous husband. A man accused of adultery could be sent to a prison for a maximum of
five years, made to pay a fine, or both. And although there is no information on actual
Group B: Adultery
India's top court has ruled adultery is no longer a crime, striking down a 158-year-old
colonial-era law which it said treated women as male property. Previously any man who had
sex with a married woman, without the permission of her husband, had committed a crime.
A petitioner had challenged the law saying it was arbitrary and discriminated against men
and women. It is not clear how many men have been prosecuted under the law - there is no
data available. This is the second colonial-era law struck down by India's Supreme Court this
month - it also overturned a 157-year-old law which effectively criminalised gay sex in India.
While reading out the judgement on adultery, Chief Justice Dipak Misra said that while it
could be grounds for civil issues like divorce, "it cannot be a criminal offence".
Last August, Joseph Shine, a 41-year-old Indian businessman living in Italy, petitioned the
Supreme Court to strike down the law. He argued that it discriminated against men by only
holding them liable for extra-marital relationships, while treating women like objects.
"Married women are not a special case for the purpose of prosecution for adultery. They are
not in any way situated differently than men," his petition said.
The law, Mr Shine said, also "indirectly
discriminates against women by holding an
erroneous presumption that women are the
property of men". In his 45-page petition, Mr
Shine liberally quotes from American poet
Ralph Waldo Emerson, women rights activist
Mary Wollstonecraft and former UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan on gender equality and the
rights of women. However, India's ruling BJP government had opposed the petition, insisting
that adultery should remain a criminal offence. "Diluting adultery laws will impact the
sanctity of marriages. Making adultery legal will hurt marriage bonds," a government
counsel told the court, adding that "Indian ethos gives paramount importance to the
institution and sanctity of marriage".
The law dictated that the woman could not be punished as an abettor. Instead, the man was
considered to be a seducer. It also did not allow women to file a complaint against an
adulterous husband. A man accused of adultery could be sent to a prison for a maximum of
five years, made to pay a fine, or both. And although there is no information on actual
