Joseph Shine case
Also called: Joseph Shine v. Union of India (2018) · Topic: Fundamental Rights and Constitutional Remedies · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Joseph Shine v. Union of India is a 2018 Supreme Court judgment, given on 27 September 2018. It struck down the crime of adultery under Section 497 of the IPC. The old law treated a wife almost as her husband's property: only the man could be punished, and only the husband could complain. The Court held that the law was manifestly arbitrary, meaning clearly unreasonable and without a sound basis. It also hurt women's dignity and equality, so it broke Articles 14, 15 and 21.
Example
After this judgment, adultery in India is no longer a crime. It can still be a ground for divorce in civil law, but nobody can be sent to jail for it.
Don't confuse with
- Navtej Singh Johar case (2018): decided in the same month. It did not strike down a law. It read down IPC s.377 (gave it a narrower meaning) so that consensual same-sex relations between adults are no longer a crime.
Related concepts
- K.S. Puttaswamy case
- Right to privacy
- Right to be forgotten
- Navtej Singh Johar case
- Supriyo Chakraborty case
- Right to marry of one's choice
- Reproductive autonomy
- Passive euthanasia
- Living will
- Vishaka case