Indian Penal Code, 1860 · Chapter XX: Of Offences Relating to Marriage
Section 497: Adultery
The Indian Penal Code, 1860 was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 from 1 July 2024. It still applies to offences and proceedings from before that date.
Whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of another man, without the consent or connivance of that man, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, is guilty of the offence of adultery, and shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both. In such case the wife shall not be punishable as an abettor.
Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 497
-
Chowdamma (D) by Lr and Another v. Venkatappa (D) by Lrs and Another
Issue arose whether the respondents succeeded in establishing a valid marital relationship between their mother and the deceased primarily on the basis of the oral testimony of P.W.2; and whether the relationship…
-
IN RE : SECTION 6A OF THE CITIZENSHIP ACT 1955 versus
Issue arose as regards the constitutional validity of s.6A of the Citizenship Act; does s.6A offend preambular values like fraternity; s.6A, if ultra vires Part II of the Constitution; does s.6A create an unreasonable…
-
Sukanya Shantha v. Union of India & Ors.
Matter pertains to caste-based discrimination in the prisons in the country.
-
Association for Democratic Reforms & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors.
The matter pertains to the constitutional validity of the Electoral Bond Scheme which introduced anonymous financial contributions to political parties; as also the constitutional validity of the provisions of the…
-
Indrakunwar v. The State of Chhattisgarh
Whether, in explaining the purported incriminating circumstance against her, the convict-appellant ought to have disclosed, over and above denial of any relationship with the deceas ed child, the specifics of her…
- Joseph Shine v. Union of India
- Union of India & Anr. v. M/S. Ganpati Dealcom Pvt. Ltd.
- Col. Rajnish Bhandari, Vsm v. Union of India & Ors.
- Joseph Shine v. Union of India
- Navtej Singh Johar & Ors. v. Union of India Thr. Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice
- Bharatha Matha & Anr. v. R. Vijaya Renganathan & Ors.
- S. Khushboo v. Kanniammal and Anr.
- Vijay Lakshmi v. Punjab University and Ors.
- Union of India and Ors. v. Shivendra Bikaram Singh
- Lily Thomas, Etc. Etc v. Union of India and Ors.