‘Sahib’, Biwi Aur Woe: Woman Ends Life After Being Told By Husband That His Adulterous Relationship Is Now ‘Legal’

A woman in Chennai’s MGR Nagar took her after own life on Saturday (29 September) after her husband allegedly justified his infidelity by quoting the recent Supreme Court’s verdict on adultery, The Times of India has reported

The victim, Pushpalatha, who ended her life in MGR Nagar, had married John Paul Franklin, 27, despite strong opposition from their families. She was said to have been under treatment for tuberculosis. Upset over her health condition, Pushpalatha told one of her husband’s friends about her suffering, who in turn informed her that her husband was in an extra-marital relationship.

Pushpalatha’s suspicions became stronger when she found Franklin returning home late frequently. When she threatened to file a police complaint in the matter, Franklin told her that she could not do so now as the Supreme Court had decriminalised adultery.

A dejected Pushpalatha is said to have hanged herself on Saturday night, when she was alone at home. The police are now questioning Franklin about the suicide.

Last week a five-judge constitution bench unanimously struck down Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) dealing with the offence of adultery, ruling that the provision was "destructive" and deprives women of their "autonomy, dignity and privacy."

Justice DY Chandrachud, who was part of a bench, opinined that sexuality of a woman, which was a definitive expression of identity, was part of her "inviolable core," and neither the state, nor the institution of marriage could disparage it. He also wrote in this judgement allowing criminalisation of consensual relationships was a denial of right of sexual privacy and considering a citizen as a property of other was an "anathema" to ideal of dignity.ted, she chose to end her life.