Indian Constitution — Correcting Flaws by Changing Laws

In recent times, we have observed some noteworthy amendments in the constitutional affairs of India. The unconventional (and necessary) amendments have helped wiping out the ambiguity revolving around some of the most bizarre laws in Indian Constitution. Even though the modifications made have surprised the nation, one cannot claim that these occurrences have happened in utter suddenness. It is because the decisions made by the Supreme Court are a result of years of struggles in the lives of sufferers who have fought till the victory.

Section 377

The decriminalization of gay marriage has consequently repealed the 150-year-old Section 377 and was considered by the former Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra as “irrational, arbitrary, and incomprehensible” — speaking the language of those affected by it. As a part of five-judge Constitution bench that was formed for the case, Justice Indu Malhotra has rightfully stated that society owes the members of LGBT community and their family an apology.

The turn of events that has happened on the fortunate day of September 6th, 2018 will surely be remembered as one of the pivotal occurrences in Indian history.

Section 497

The unconstitutionality of Section 497 confirmed the progression of Indian Penal Code. Defining adultery as a crime that involved five-year imprisonment of the accused not only proved this law of Indian Constitution as trivial but also privacy invading.

The absurdity of the law does not end here. In accordance with Section 497 of IPC, the offence could only be committed or addressed by the men involved. To elaborate, if a man’s wife was found having sexual relationship outside her marriage, only the man involved would be considered as the offender and not the wife herself. Moreover, the case can only be filed by the husband of said woman and not the wife of offender. Therefore, gender inequality in this law is twofold — firstly, it was clearly mentioned that the woman and man can only be a victim and influencer respectively; secondly, the wife of ‘seducer’ gets no right to file a case against the ‘seduced’.

The abolition of this law by Supreme Court has contributed towards the elimination of commodification of a wife and shows that the woman’s individuality has been respected.

These scenarios are among the few examples that reflect the thoughtfulness of those people who are at chief positions in our country. Tweaking of the law and scrapping thereof become a necessity owing to the changing times and ideologies. Since we now have an access to various media, the issues with society keep surfacing with striking transparency.

Such developmental alterations of IPC made by considering the dynamic thought processes can be seen as little yet effective initiatives that are aimed towards bringing each individual under the light of normalcy.

If our nation keeps treading the paths of fairness, it might as well have a bright future ahead.