Justice DY Chandrachud is the judge of the season. Part of the five-judge Constitution bench, Justice DY Chandrachud overturned his own father¡¯s ruling on adulterous relationships. His father Justice YV Chandrachud had upheld the constitutional validity of Section 497 in the Indian Penal Code.?
In Sowmithri Vishnu vs Union Of India & Anr, erstwhile CJI YV Chandrachud said that the removal of Section 497 from the IPC could result in more free play and that ¡®stability of marriages is not an ideal to be scorned¡¯.
This isn¡¯t the first time the son had overruled his pater. The last time was his father's judgement on privacy, calling it ¡®seriously flawed¡¯.
In its judgement today, Justice Chandrachud said section 497 of IPC deprives women of dignity and self-respect as it treats women as chattels.
Declaring that adultery is not a crime, the Supreme Court today struck down a colonial-era anti-adultery law, saying it was unconstitutional, dented the individuality of women and treated them as "chattel of husbands."