Originally posted by :arnab banerjee |
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there are some stiking similarities between punishment for adultery in india and that of other crimes.
punishment for adultery in india: 5yr. jail or fine or both
punishment for theft and extortion in india; 3yr. jail or fine or both
punishment for culpable homicide in india: 7yr. jail or fine or both
punishment for rape in india: 7yr. jail and fine
so you see punishment for adultery (5 yr.) comes in between theft and extortion(3 yr.) and culpable homicide and rape (7 yr.).
but the question is : is adultery as henious as theft, extortion, culpable homicide and rape?
adultery is; falling in love with a married woman.
is love as henious a crime in india as theft, extortion, culpable homicide and rape?
think about it.
make india a better place to live. |
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What you are saying has substance. It is unfortunate that some persons in the begining of this thread without understanding from the legal perspective started emotional chest thumping. Your preivious thread on gambling etc. was also serious and I had made detailed reply to it but for some unknown reasons the thread was deleted.
Most of the present laws were created by British to keep natives "in control" by sending a message about who is the master and who is the slave. Every concievable law that could be used to send them to jail or death was legislated. Unfortunately the present rulers whose thinking was/is not much different from the colonial rulers found these laws to be suitable for their overall designs and did no efforts to change such laws.
Also it needs to be noted that laws for adultry were created during the times when wife was percieved as "property" of husband. Consent of wife was considered immaterial in adultry. Anybody enjoying by doing theft of that "property" without consent from husband was considered doing a criminal offense and had to be punished accordingly.
As per my understanding from purely legal angle, adultry at the most ought to be a civil offense and not a criminal offense. If someone takes this matter as a writ in High Court or Supreme Court, it appears has good chance of winning. How? I try to explain as below:
1) All laws flow from the Constitution. Marriage or s*x related laws flow from Article 21 especially from the Liberty part.
2) If you do not marry and have consensual s*x(enjoying Liberty guaranteed by Article 21) with another unmarried adult, nobody is violating rights of anybody in criminal manner. This position has been upheld by courts while decriminalising gay s*x and live in relationships between consenting adults.
3) Similarly if one has consensual s*x(enjoying Liberty guaranteed by Article 21) with another married adult outside marriage(called adultry under IPC), nobody is violating rights of anybody in criminal manner. Please note the fact that the s*x in adultry is consensual just like in case between unmarried adults which has already been decriminalised by courts. Difference being only that adultry violates the civil rights of other spouse in question under marriage in a civil aspect.