SC observes adultery creates deep pain in families
Sep 29, 2022
New Delhi [India], September 29 : The Supreme Court on Thursday observed that adultery creates deep pain in the family and tore it apart.
The remark was made by a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Justice KM Joseph.
"Adultery creates deep pain in the family. We have held so many sessions as judges in the high courts, and we have seen how families have been torn apart because of adultery. We thought of keeping this to ourselves but we are just telling you, don't treat it in a light-hearted manner," Justice Joseph remarked.
Justice Joseph shared one of his experiences as it recalled one of the incidents relating to adultery committed by the mother and her children refusing to talk with her mother. Justice Joseph faced this situation while hearing a habeas corpus plea filed by a mother seeking to interact with her minor children. The children had refused to talk with her mother.
The court also remarked that everyone is dependent on the family as a unit or society, which is based on faithfulness.
The Supreme Court also remarked that there needs to be discipline in the case of uniformed services and asked how one can cite Joseph Shine's judgment and say it cannot be.
A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court was hearing the Centre's application seeking clarification in the 2018 judgment decriminalizing adultery relating to discipline in the armed forces.
The Centre has stated that the 2018 judgment on decriminalizing adultery could come in the way of armed forces personnel being convicted for such acts. Centre told the bench that the Armed Forces Tribunal has set aside disciplinary proceedings against army personnel taken against them for adultery citing the Joseph Shine judgement.
