Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code - "supports, safeguards and protects the institution of marriage".

Court terms penal provision archaic

• Terming the penal provision archaic, the court had said it was time to reconsider its past decisions and consistent view from 1954 onwards that the penal provision was necessary to uphold family ties.
• Section 497 says that if a man has sexual intercourse with another's wife without the husband's "consent or connivance", he is guilty of the offence of adultery and shall be punished".
• The provision really creates a dent in the individual independent identity of a woman when the emphasis is laid on the connivance or consent of the husband.
• This tantamounts to subordination of a woman where the Constitution confers equal status

Source: The Hindu