The Jharkhand High Court has held that the 2018 judgment of the Supreme Court quashing criminal offence of adultery under Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code is applicable to all pending cases even to those offences which were committed before Section 497 was struck off.
Justice Anubha Rawat Choudhary observed that as per Article 141 of the Constitution of India, the law declared by the Supreme Court is binding on all lower courts and will apply to all pending proceedings.
Case of the Petitioner
The petitioner in the case was convicted of adultery and was sentenced by the trial court in 2008 to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years. The session’s judge confirmed the conviction in October 2013 against which the present petition was filed before the High Court.
The counsel for the petitioner contended that since Section 497 was held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court verdict in the case of Joseph Shine v. Union of India, hence no conviction stands maintainable under the said provision.
The petitioner also cited a judgment by the Bombay High Court in the case of Rupesh v. Shri Charandas wherein the judgment in Joseph Shine was followed and the conviction was set aside under Section 497.
Observation of the Court
Justice Anu Rawat Chodhary noted that the Supreme Court struck down Section 497 for being unconstitutional and violative of Articles 14, 15, and 21 of the Constitution. The Court laid emphasis on the judgment pronounced in the case of Major Genl. AS Gauraya and another v. SN Thakur, wherein it was held that that the Supreme Court’s 2018judgment will apply to pending proceedings for past crimes.
The Court was of the view that since the judgment was pronounced during the pendency of the revision petition, the precedent was binding.
“During the pendency of the revision petition, the section in which the petitioner was ultimately convicted i.e. Section 497 IPC, has been declared to be unconstitutional. The said judgment is a binding precedent under Article 141 of the Constitution of India”, the Court ruled.
Therefore, the Court sets aside the order of conviction.
Case Details
Before: Jharkhand High Court
Case Details: August Mehta v. the State of Jharkhand
Coram: Hon'ble Justice Anu Chodhary
Read Order@LatestLaws.com
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