The Supreme Court on Thursday said that having an extramarital affair is not a criminal offence. A bench led by Justice Dipak Misra said that an extramarital affair alone cannot be considered as an instance of cruelty against a spouse, nor can a person be accused of abetting suicide if the spouse takes the extreme step after knowing about the relationship, reported PTI.

“Extramarital relationship, per se, would not come within the ambit of Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code. It would be an illegal or immoral act, but other ingredients are to be brought home so that it would constitute a criminal offence,” the apex court said. According to Section 498-A of the IPC, a husband or his relative can be imprisoned for three years for subjecting a woman to physical or mental cruelty.

The court also said that an affair alone cannot be the proof that a man was guilty of abetting suicide of his wife, unless other evidence is brought on record to prove his involvement. “Solely because the husband is involved in an extramarital relationship and there is some suspicion in the mind of wife, that cannot be regarded as mental cruelty which would attract mental cruelty for satisfying the ingredients of Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code,” the apex court bench said. The section deals with abetment of suicide, and attracts a prison term of up to 10 years.

The court was hearing a case involving a man from Karnataka, who had moved court against a four-year jail term awarded to him by a lower court for abetting his wife’s suicide. The Supreme Court acquitted him of charges citing lack of evidence to prove his involvement.