Hyderabad: The Supreme Court verdict on adultery has led to an impression that it is now acceptable, going by some reports, TRS MP B Vinod Kumar said Friday and urged the Centre to introduce a section in the IPC, making infidelity an offence to protect the institution of marriage in the country.
“Unfortunately, judging by the cartoons and reportage in some sections of the media that is being wrongly interpreted by a large section of the public, as reflected in the social media posts – wherein an impression is being created that amongst the public that adultery is now acceptable,” he said in a letter to Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
“The impression that adultery is acceptable could cause irreparable damage and chaos to the institutions of marriage and family in society,” Kumar, Lok Sabha member from Karimnagar in Telangana, said. Such an impression would have a traumatic effect on children, who would suffer the unpleasantness of such adulterous relationships, he said.
It has to be noted that while a majority of women in Indian society often continue to have little power over their marriage as an equal partner, striking down the provision (Section 497 of IPC) could also embolden men to commit adultery in various situations of power, including in social hierarchies that continue to exist, he said.
“Therefore, given the social and moral fabric of our nation and our value systems, I would urge the Ministry of Law and Justice, GoI, to introduce an appropriate section to the Indian Penal Code, in the upcoming session of Parliament, wherein adultery is punishable, irrespective of which spouse commits it in order to protect and nurture the sacred institution of marriage and family in India,” he said.
Such a section would be in tune with the cultural ethos and traditions of the country that has placed great value on family, matrimonial promises and relationships for thousands of years, Kumar added.