29 September 2018

Quartz: India’s supreme court strikes down a colonial-era adultery law

Unlike the country’s sexual assault laws, which hinge on the consent of the woman, the 158-year-old adultery law did not consider the woman’s will. Though women couldn’t be punished under the provision, a husband could prosecute the man who had sexual relations with his wife, even if the wife was a voluntary participant in the act. [...]

The Narendra Modi government had supported the colonial-era law on the grounds that it preserved the sanctity of marriage and served a public good. [...]

The Modi government was open to making the law gender-neutral by allowing for the prosecution of a woman who has sex with a married man. However, the court has consistently refused to allow for prosecution of women.

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