Sowmithri Vishnu vs

Union Of India
 FACTS
• The petitioner (wife) filed a petition for divorce against
her husband on the ground of desertion.

• Trial court dismissed the petition since it was the wife

who deserted the husband.

• The husband thereafter flied a petition for divorce against

her wife on the following grounds :- 1.
Desertion 2.
Committing adultery with a person called Dharma
Ebenezer.

• The petitioner conceded to the fact that she had deserted

her husband and it was a valid ground for divorce
 FACTS
• The petitioner contended to avoid the grounds of adultery as
it seemed unnecessary since the decree of divorce could
already be passed.

• The husband contended that there wasn’t any reason as to

why he shouldn't prove her wife’s act of adultery.

• Trail court accepted the husbands contention.

• High court didn't see a reason behind raising the question of

adultery after the decree had been passed.
 FACTS
• While the petition for divorce was pending, the husband
filed a complaint against Dharma under section 497,
charging him for committing adultery.

• The wife then filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court

under Article 35 for quashing this complaint on the
grounds that section 497 of the IPC is violative of Article
14, 15 and 21 of the constitution.
 ISSUES
• Section 497 gives the right to husband to prosecute the adulterer,
but it does not give the same right to wife to prosecute the woman
with whom her husband has committed adultery. Does this
legislation discriminate on the basis of gender and is it against the
spirit of equal rights given by the Constitution of India?

• Does section 497 confer any right on the wife to prosecute the
husband who has committed adultery with another woman?

• Does Section 497 recognise the cases where the husband has
sexual relations with an unmarried woman or a widow?
 Relevant sections
• Section 198(1),198(2) of the Code of Criminal
Procedure.

• Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code.

• Section 498 of the Indian Penal Code.

• Article 32, 14, 15, and 21 of the Indian Constitution