The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the armed forces must have some sort of process for disciplining officers for adultery since it causes grief in families and should not be taken lightly. KM Joseph, the head of a five-judge constitution panel, stated: ‘The discipline in the armed forces will be thrown off by this (adultery). Armed troops must be given some guarantee that they will act. How can you mention Joseph Shine (judgement) and assert that it is not possible?’
The Indian Penal Code’s Section 497, which deals with the crime of adultery, was invalidated by the top court in 2018 on the grounds that it was unconstitutional. You should not handle this matter lightly, the bench said. ‘Adultery generates agony in a family. We have held so many sessions as judges in the high courts and watched so many families being split’.
The bench stated, ‘There needs to be discipline in uniformed services. If a private employer can do it, why not the forces? If it potentially involves the dissolution of a family, then why not the forces? We have to stand up for our officers, who are fighting for us on the ground’, said ASG Madhavi Divan, who was speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in a motion to the top court on September 27, 2018, arguing that the decision abolishing adultery as a crime could prevent members of the armed forces from being found guilty of adulterous acts.
‘I’m just pointing out that there are a lot of instances in AFT and a lot of disciplinary proceedings have been initiated, and we need to maintain the military’s trust in us’, she said. The bench argued that the armed forces can still contest specific AFT instructions because nothing in the 2018 decision prevents them from doing so. The hearing was set for December 6 after ASG Diwan requested more time to thoroughly review the 2018 ruling.
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