According to a recent ruling by the Rajasthan High Court (HC), two adults having consensual sex outside of marriage is not illegal. The court considered a petition from a man who claimed that three individuals had kidnapped his wife and passed this decision.
The woman on her appearance in the court denied being kidnapped and claimed to have willfully moved in with one of the defendants.
Judge Birendra Kumar stated that during the legal proceedings, where adultery was an exception under Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), physical relations outside marriage were illegal.
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The Supreme Court had previously ruled that Section 497 of the IPC was unconstitutional in the year 2018.
The man requested to recall the order in which a court had dismissed a formal complaint under Section 366 of the IPC (kidnapping, forcing a woman to marry someone or abducting). Even though he has served imprisonment for a different violation and was therefore unable to participate in the case.
Advocate Ankit Khandelwal, supported this man and stated that the applicant’s wife had accepted having an extramarital affair.
Hence, he argued that the court should use its authority to safeguard social morals rather than a married person’s extramarital affair.
The Court concluded:
The court stated that when two adults have sex and are not married does not constitute a statutory offense. The High Court noted that only a relationship that is like marriage is not subject to the mischief of Section 494 IPC unless the marriage is admitted and verified. The court rejected the plea, stating is has no merit in it.