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In India, under the offence of adultery in s.497 IPC as it stood before it was struck down in Joseph Shine v. Union of India (2018)

Question and options

In India, under the offence of adultery in s.497 IPC as it stood before it was struck down in Joseph Shine v. Union of India (2018)
  1. only a male can be the complainant but the defendant can be male or female
  2. only a female can be the complainant but the defendant can be male or female
  3. the complainant can be male or female and the defendant has to be a male
  4. only a male can be the complainant and the defendant has to be a male

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: D - only a male can be the complainant and the defendant has to be a male
Under s.497 IPC (before it was struck down) only a man could be prosecuted for adultery, and under s.198(2) CrPC only the husband (a male) could complain. So both complainant and defendant had to be male. In Joseph Shine v. Union of India (2018) the Supreme Court struck down s.497 as unconstitutional, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 has no offence of adultery.

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