Supreme Court said on the 2018 verdict – it does not apply to the Army Act

Army can court-martial those convicted of adultery: Supreme Court said on the 2018 verdict – it does not apply to the Army Act

Jan 31, 2023 - 21:24
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Supreme Court said on the 2018 verdict – it does not apply to the Army Act

If found guilty in the case of adultery, the three forces can take court-martial action against their personnel. A 5-judge bench of the Supreme Court has given this clarification on Tuesday on the application of the Ministry of Defence. The Defense Ministry had said that in such a case, the guilty officers are citing the decision of the court. This can pose a threat to national security.
Explain that on 27 September 2018, the Supreme Court declared Section 497 of the IPC unconstitutional. Earlier, under section 497, extra-marital affair ie adultery was declared a crime. A 5-judge Constitution Bench headed by Justice KM Joseph clarified this decision and said that the 2018 decision of the court does not apply to the Army Act.
Additional Solicitor General Madhavi Divan, on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, filed the petition seeking clarification of the 2018 decision. The Defense Ministry had moved the Supreme Court saying that the 2018 decision to include adultery as an offence could come in the way of holding officers of the armed forces guilty of activities such as immoral relations.
Diwan said that disciplinary action was taken against some army personnel for adultery. However, the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) quashed such action in several cases, citing the Joseph Shine judgment.
The bench said- We had only abolished adultery as a crime. At that time the court was not asked to interpret Section 45 (discourteous conduct) and Section 63 (breach of order and discipline) of the Army Act. The forces have the right to act according to their rules.
On 27 September 2018, the Supreme Court termed Section 497 as arbitrary and unconstitutional. The bench headed by the then Chief Justice Deepak Mishra had said that only adultery cannot be an offence. The court had said that if the victim's husband or wife commits suicide because of adultery and evidence is found, then the case of abetment to suicide will go on.
The court had said that adultery is related to the institution of marriage and Parliament has made laws to protect the rights of women. Under the adultery law, if a married woman has sex with another man, the man has the right to prosecute There was a provision, that the woman was neither prosecuted nor did she get any punishment. This law gave the husband the right to sue a man who had an affair with his wife, but he could not file a case against the wife.

Muskan Kumawat Journalist & Writer