Adultery is a cause of deep pain in the family. Families are torn asunder by adultery, Justice K.M. Joseph said while heading a Constitution Bench on Wednesday.
"Everybody is ultimately dependent on the family as a unit. The integrity of the family is primarily based on the faithfulness each spouse expects of the other," Justice Joseph observed.
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The five-judge Bench is hearing an application filed by the government seeking a clarification as to whether a 2018 judgment of the Supreme Court decriminalising adultery in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) would affect action taken under the Armed Forces laws against officers who indulge in adultery with their colleagues' wives.
The Centre approached the Supreme Court after the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) had started dismissing cases of misconduct against officers after the Joseph Shine judgment in 2018.
"Suppose an officer is in the field and another officer uses this opportunity to have an illicit, possibly consensual, relationship with the former's wife. This sort of behaviour is categorised as 'unbecoming conduct' or indiscipline. The AFT says such cases against officers should be quashed after the 2018 judgment. Such an interpretation would create instability in the ranks… Ultimately, we have to inspire confidence in the officers who serve in the field," Additional Solicitor General Madhavi Divan submitted.
She said unlike the IPC offence of adultery under Section 497, which is based on patriarchal notions, the Armed Forces take action for misconduct even against women officers.
"The Armed Forces law is completely gender-neutral," Ms. Divan said.
The Bench asked the government whether it would want to withdraw the clarification application and substantially challenge a particular case rejected by the AFT. The court listed the case on December 6.
