Army wants adultery to remain offence for discipline in its ranks
IN THE MILITARY, THE OFFENCE OF ADULTERY IS A SERIOUS VIOLATION THAT IS A NOTCH BELOW ‘COWARDICE’ , WHICH CAN BE PUNISHABLE WITH EVEN DEATH
NEW DELHI: The military, especially the 1.3- million- strong army, is unhappy with a 2018 Supreme Court ( SC) verdict scrapping adultery as a criminal offence, and is likely to approach the apex court to exclude the defence forces from the ambit of the judgment, two senior officers said on condition of anonymity.
The Indian Army, in particular, has raised the issue with the Ministry of Defence (MOD), said a senior military officer who did not want to be named. “We will approach the court shortly,” the official added.
With the quashing of section 497 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalised adultery, the military is worried about “discipline among its ranks”.
In the military, the offence of “stealing the affections of brother officer’s wife – a euphemism for adultery – is a serious offence that is a notch below “cowardice” , which is punishable with even death. The punishment for “stealing the affection of a brother officer’s wife” derives its power from section 497 and is not a standalone offence. Similar provisions exist in all three forces and prosecutions usually lead to the accused officer’s dismissal from the force.
“Scrapping of [ section] 497 therefore has thrown up a difficult situation,” said a second senior military officer who did not want to be named. “Officers and men stay away from families for months and are looked after by others, there has to be some deterrence to deal with deviant behaviour,” the officer added.
In September 2018, the SC scrapped adultery as a criminal offence, ruling that the 19th century law that “treats a husband as the master”, was unconstitutional. “The adultery law is arbitrary and it offends the dignity of a woman,” then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, who led the five-judge bench, had observed. Section 497 made it an offence if a man had sex with the wife of another married man without his “connivance” or “consent”. But only men, and not women, could be prosecuted.
In August this year, the SC quashed General Court Marshal (GCM) proceedings that found a colonel guilty of adultery. The serving decorated colonel serving in Jammu and Kashmir -against whom proceedings were initiated by the army in March 2016 for allegedly having two adulterous encounters with the wife of retired officer – was reinstated by the top court.
The SC quashed the GCM findings in light of its September 2018 judgment. The retired officer had complained to the army, triggering the GCM proceedings.
Till now, any complaints of extramarital relationships within the military were handled through two provisions of the Army Act – “conduct unbecoming of an officer” and conduct that disturbed “good order and military discipline”.
But the scrapping of section 497 had severely constrained the capability of the military to act against officers charged with such offences. “When men and officers are away, the last thing on their mind should be how their families are” a third senior official said, explaining the need for excluding the military from the ambit of the September 2018 judgment.