Tackling patriarchy, one law at a time

Recently the supreme court won a lot of accolades for its judgment on section 497. Let us try to understand what it is & what does this ruling mean.

Section 497 of the Indian constitution states that if a man has sexual intercourse with a married woman without her husband’s consent, he is punishable by law. The man could be imprisoned for five years or more and even pay a fine.

Issues with section 497 the petitioners wanted to address :

• The petitioners want the adultery law to be made gender neutral. This is because the law calls for the man to be punished in case of adultery, but no action is suggested for the woman
• As per Section 497, a woman whose husband has had sexual intercourse with another woman cannot file a complaint because the law makes no such provision for her
• Moreover, the adultery law in IPC reduces women to an object because no consent of the married woman is required for a man to have sexual intercourse with her. As per Section 497, if the woman’s husband agrees, the act is not a crime. This is the reason many have called this law an anti-women law

The Supreme Court ruling :

• The judges called Section 497 archaic and said that it violated Articles 14 and 21 of the IPC
• The justices said, “Adultery can be ground for civil issues including dissolution of marriage but it cannot be a criminal offense.”
• The bench said that Section 497 was ‘unconstitutional’ as it violated the right to equality and there was no reason to continue this anymore
• However, the Supreme Court held that adultery will remain a ground for divorce
• Justice DY Chandrachud said that Section 497 destroys and deprives women of dignity
• “Women must be treated with equality with men. Any discrimination shall invite the wrath of the Constitution. A woman can’t be asked to think the way society desires,” said CJI Misra for himself and J Khanwilkar
• CJI Misra added that the husband is not the master of the wife

What does this judgment mean?

The judgment is another step towards ensuring equality for women in family law.
It re-emphasizes on the women’s right to bodily integrity, individual choice, and personal autonomy. These rights are available not just against the state, but also within the context of the home and the family.
The verdict should have an impact on other important issues such as marital rape and restitution of conjugal rights where women’s right to choose and personal autonomy is violated.
The verdict re-emphasizes that when it comes to interpretation of the constitution, the supreme court is putting individual freedom at the forefront.
so The verdict is one important step in the reform of matrimonial laws, with hopefully more to come in the form of criminalization of marital rape, no-fault divorce and women’s right to matrimonial property.
Throughout history, the law has failed to ask the women question. It seems that finally that question is being asked and answered to in the increasing jurisprudence on gender justice, albeit slowly, one case at a time.