Can a women be prosecuted for the offence of adultery

882 votes

No women can not be prosecuted under section 497 of IPC.This issue is pending for adjudication before constitution bench of supreme court of India. Untill and unless the said issue is allowed by the supre court,the charge u/s 497 is not maintable against a woman.

Advocate Debasis Mitra LawRato

806 votes

Section 497 unequivocally conveys that the adulteress "wife" is absolutely free from criminal responsibility. She is also
not to be punished (even) for "abetting" the offence. It declares that: (i) man is a seducer and the married woman is merely his hapless and passive victim, (ii) he trespasses upon another man's marital property i.e. his wife by establishing a sexual liaison with the married woman with her consent but without the consent or connivance of her husband, (iii) husband of the adulteress wife is an aggrieved party and he (in some cases a person who had care of the married woman when the adultery was committed), therefore, is authorised to make a formal complaint, (iv) wife of the man, if he is married, who had
consensual sexual intercourse with another woman, married or unmarried, is not deemed to be an aggrieved party and
thereby is precluded from making a formal complaint against either her husband or the adulteress woman, and (v) a
married man, with impunity, may seduce and establish sexual liaison with an unmarried woman, a widow, or a divorcee
even though such a sexual link is equally potential to wreck the marriage between him and his wife.

Advocate Robert D Rozario LawRato