 bill no 203 of 2018 the criminal law (amendment) bill, 2018 by shri vinod kumar boianapalli, mp abillfurther to amend the indian penal code, 1860 and the code of criminal procedure code, 1973be it enacted by parliament in the sixty-ninth year of the republic of india, as follows:— chapter  i preliminary1 (1) this act may be called the criminal law (amendment) act, 2018short title and commencement5 (2) it shall come into force on such date, as the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, appoint chapter ii amendments to the indian penal code, 18605 of 1860102 for section 497 of the indian penal code, 1860, the following section shall be substituted, namely:substitution of new section for section 497 adultery"497 whoever has consensual sexual intercourse with a person who he knows or has reason to believe is the wife or husband of another person, 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 two years, or with fine, or with both" chapter iii amendments to the code of criminal procedure, 19731 of 197453 in section 198 of the code of criminal procedure, 1973, for sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:amendment of section 198(2) for the purposes of sub-section (1), no person other than the husband or wife of the women or man shall be deemed to be aggrieved by any offence punishable under section 497 of the said code:10(2a) for the purposes of sub-section (1), no person other than the husband of the woman shall be deemed to be aggrieved by any offence punishable under section 498 of the said code: provided that in the absence of the husband, some person who had care of the woman on his behalf at the time when such offence was committed may, with the leave of the court, make a complaint on his behalf"15 statement of objects and reasonsthe supreme court in the matter of joseph shine v union of india, on 27 september2018, struck down section 497 of the indian penal code (ipc), 1860, and section 198 (2) of the code of criminal procedure (cr pc) 1973, inter alia on the grounds of being irrational, arbitrary and violative of articles 14, 15 and 21 of the constitution section 497 of the ipc, 1860, and section 198 (2) of cr pc, also suffered from poor drafting, as well as being archaic in nature this section was drafted in completely different social and legal context that existed 158 years ago a plan reading of the said section reveals the discriminatory and manifestly arbitrary application of the provision, wherein it only provides for circumstances where such an "offence" occurred "without the consent or connivance of that man"however, judging by the reportage in some sections of the media, the spirit of equality as upheld by the supreme court in the abovementioned judgement is unfortunately being misinterpreted by some sections of the society, to mean that the supreme court intended to condone, or encourage adultery in society this is also unfortunately reflected in the social media posts, wherein a wrongful impression is being created that amongst the public that adultery is now an acceptable act that carries no penalties the above erroneous understanding of the said judgement could cause irreparable damage and chaos to the institutions of marriage and family in our society, and may also have a traumatic effect on children who could suffer the unpleasantness of such adulterous relationships, in the absence of any sanction under the law, despite the existence of a strong moral prohibition and preponderant cultural taboo against the actit is pertinent to the proposed bill that while majority of the women in our society often continue to have little power over their marriage, as an equal partner, the striking down of the above provision could also embolden adulterious men to commit adultery in various situations of power, including in social hierarchies that unfortunately continue to exists despite our social best efforts, and the accompanying laws, including those to prevent, protect and punish against such mental cruelty and violence against women the legislation would help safeguard and nurture the sacred institution of marriage and family life in india, and be in keeping with our cultural ethos and traditions as a nation that has placed great value on family, matrimonial promises and relationships, for thousands of years therefore, in order to vindicate the stand taken by the parliament, of constitutional morality, dignity of women and the principles of gender equality, as also against gender equity guaranteed under the constitution, it is hereby proposed that "adultery" wherein committed whether by husband or wife, must be a punishable as a non cognizable offence under the indian penal code, 1860, and the consequent amendment to the code of criminal procedure, 1973, be introduced to ensure free, equal, and dignified existence of all members of society this bill seeks to achieve the above objectshence this billnew delhi;vinod kumar boianapallifebruary 9, 2017 annexure extract from the indian penal code, 1860 (no 45 of 1860)|                                                                                                  |                                                                             ||---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| adultery                                                                                         |                                                                              || 497                                                                                              | 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 be punishable as an |                                                                              || abettor                                                                                          |                                                                              | extract from the code of criminal procedure, 1973 [2  of  1974]198 (1) no court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under chapter xx of the indian penal code (45 of 1860) except upon a complaint made by some person aggrieved by the offence:prosecution for offences against marriageprovided that—(a) where such person is under the age of eighteen years, or is an idiot or a lunatic, or is from sickness or infirmity unable to make a complaint, or is a woman who, according to the local customs and manners, ought not to be compelled to appear in public, some other person may, with the leave of the court, make a complaint on his or her behalf;(b) where such person is the husband and he is serving in any of the armed forces of the union under conditions which are certified by his commanding officer as precluding him from obtaining leave of absence to enable him to make a complaint in person, some other person authorized by the husband in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (4) may make a complaint on his behalf;(c) where the person aggrieved by an offence punishable under section 494 of the indian penal code (45 of 1860) is the wife, complaint may be made on her behalf by her father, mother, brother, sister, son or daughter or by her father's or mother's brother or sister (2) for the purposes of sub-sectin (1), no person other than the husband of the woman shall be deemed to be aggrieved by any offence punishable  under section 497 or section 498 of the said code:provided that in the absence of the husband, some person who had care of the woman on his behalf at the time when such offence was committed may, with the leave of the court, make a complaint on his behalf   ———— a billfurther to amend the indian penal code, 1860 and the code of criminal procedure code, 1973————(shri vinod kumar boianapalli, mp)mgipmrnd—2321ls(s3)—14-12-2018