Parliamentary Committee Considers Reintroducing Criminal Penalties for Adultery

New Delhi: A parliamentary committee is reportedly leaning towards recommending the reintroduction of criminal penalties for adultery and the criminalization of non-consensual sexual acts involving individuals of all genders, as part of a comprehensive effort to reform outdated colonial-era criminal legislation, according to well-placed sources.

This committee is currently engaged in the examination of three significant bills intended to replace the age-old Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act. These proposed legal replacements are known as the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, respectively.

These bills, which were presented by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, were forwarded to the Standing Committee on Home Affairs for a thorough review in August, with a stipulated three-month timeframe. The committee, chaired by BJP MP Brij Lal, has been tasked with this important responsibility.

In a recent meeting held on Friday, the committee was unable to reach a consensus on a preliminary report regarding these bills. The impasse arose due to opposition members requesting an additional three-month extension to further deliberate on the proposed legislation. The committee is now set to reconvene on November 6 to continue their discussions.

Regarding the issue of adultery, the forthcoming draft report is expected to recommend the reinstatement of criminal sanctions for adultery, either by reinstating the previously invalidated law, which was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2018, or by introducing an entirely new legal framework.