The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that armed forces can
take action against their officers for adulterous acts, as it clarified the
landmark 2018 judgement that decriminalised adultery.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice K M
Joseph said its 2018 judgement was not concerned with the provisions of the
armed forces acts.
The top court, on a plea filed by NRI Joseph Shine, in
2018 had struck down Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code dealing with the
offence of adultery, holding it unconstitutional.
The Tuesday order by the bench, also comprising
justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy, and C T Ravikumar came
after Additional Solicitor General Madhavi Divan, appearing for the Centre,
submitted a plea seeking clarification of the 2018 judgement.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) had moved the apex court
for an exemption to armed forces from the September 27, 2018 judgement striking
down adultery, saying it may hinder action against officers who indulge in such
actions and can cause 'instability' within the services.
"In view of the aforesaid (2018) judgment, there
will always be a concern in the minds of the army personnel who are operating
far away from their families under challenging conditions about the family
indulging in untoward activities," the application said.
……………..