Joseph Shine v. Union of India
AIR 2018 SC 4898 · 5-judge bench (unanimous)
Challenged Section 497 of the old IPC, which criminalised adultery — but only treated the man involved as an offender, and only allowed the woman's husband (not the woman herself) to file the complaint, treating the wife essentially as her husband's property in the eyes of the law.
The Court struck down Section 497 entirely, holding it violated equality and individual dignity by treating a married woman as her husband's possession rather than an autonomous person, and by applying different treatment based on gender.
Adultery is no longer a criminal offence in India (it can still be a ground for divorce in civil family law) — a significant statement on gender equality and rejecting outdated ownership-style framing of marriage in criminal law.
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The equality guarantee this gender-unequal provision was struck down for violating
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