The Rajasthan High Court has ruled that the Joseph Shine v. Union of India (2018) judgment de-criminalising adultery by striking down Section 497 IPC applies retrospectively to all pending and ongoing prosecutions.
Justice Anand Sharma observed that once a law is declared unconstitutional, it becomes void ab initio under Article 13 of the Constitution and cannot sustain any prosecution or conviction, even in pending cases.
The Court clarified that all proceedings initiated under Section 497 IPC before the 2018 judgment stand nullified in view of its retrospective invalidation.
[Anuj Sharma v State of Rajasthan & Anr]
