Offence of Adultery in India a Study

There has been recurrent, conflict between the liberties of the individual and security of the society. It is well reflected in the area of sexual behavior as it becomes difficult to reconcile competing claims of the liberty of the individual and the security which so far have defied final solution. It gets further complicated in a developing, multilingual, heterogeneous and plural society like India where conflict between them are multi dimensional and naturally sharper. It threatens to disturb the dynamic social equilibrium of the society. Society is a dynamic and living concept as it grows with the passage of time. It is regulated by various forces which set up a dynamic equilibrium in the society. Besides this the social values keep on changing with the passage of time and place to place. An act which is an offence today may not be an offence in the past and the vice-versa. This poses constant problems in the society. In many jurisdictions adultery is viewed as an offence injurious to public morals and mistreatment of the marriage relationship. It jeopardizes the institution of marriage. Though historically adultery has been regarded as a very serious and heinous crime, but the modern society is afflicted by many new social conditions which have led to a liberal view about it. The processes of urbanization, industrialization and population explosions have brought about new tensions, problems and changes in the society, which have affected the institution of marriage and aspects related to it. Thus, it becomes necessary to inquire the new approaches and developments that have taken place with regards to the offence of adultery which directly affects the institution of marriage yet it is penalized under the Indian Penal Code.