Chennai, October 1: A woman from Chennai's MGR Nagar has committed suicide after her husband allegedly justified that he was in an extramarital affair and that she could not stop him as the Supreme Court had ruled that adultery was not crime. This comes out as the first reported casualty after the Supreme Court decriminalised adultery. Earlier on Thursday, the Supreme Court scrapped Section 497 of the IPC, which stated adultery as a criminal offence, with prison up to five years. Sexist Indian Laws! From Marital Rape to Adultery, These 6 Laws Are A Threat to the Freedom of Women.
According to TOI, Pushpalatha, the victim, was married to John Paul Franklin, two years ago. They married each other despite a strong opposition from their families.
According to reports, the husband, who is working as a security guard in a corporation park, started to keep distance with the victim after she was diagnosed with Tuberculosis. Upset over the husband's behaviour, she conveyed the whole issue to one of her husband's friend who informed her about his closeness with another woman. Her suspicions grew stronger after she noticed her husband coming late from work. Adultery Law Unconstitutional, Says Supreme Court Citing Gender Equality; Section 497 Struck Down in Unanimous Decision.
After confronting him, she demanded him to part away from another woman, but he reportedly refused saying that adultery was no more a crime.
Dejected by this, she decided to end her life and hanged herself on Saturday night. The police have started questioning the husband on the case.
As per the new adultery law, if the law leads to a person's suicide, abetment to suicide charges can be slapped on the person responsible for it.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 01, 2018 12:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).