On Wednesday (July 11th, 2018) Union government told the Supreme Court of India that they don’t want to drop adultery as an offence as it will only weaken the institution of marriage.

In an affidavit that will come up before a Constitution Bench, the centre said the provision of Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860for punishing adultery "supports, safeguards and protects the institution of marriage."

The Constitution Bench would decide whether the pre-Independence provision of adultery in the IPC treated a married woman as her husband's "subordinate" and violated the constitutional concepts of gender equality and sensitivity.

The petition, filed by Joseph Shine and represented by Advocate Kaleeswaram Raj and Advocate Suvidutt M.S., seeks to drop Section 497 of IPC as a criminal offence from the statute book.

Section 497 of Indian Panel Code, 1860 says that if a man has sexual intercourse with another's wife without the husband's "consent or connivance", he is guilty of the offence of adultery and shall be “punished".