'Woman being considered property...': Delhi HC quashes adultery case; cites Draupadi from Mahabharata

Delhi High Court cited Droupadi from Mahabharata in a 2010 case

While quashing an adultery case from 2010, the Delhi High Court cited Droupadi from Mahabharata and said that treating a woman as a man's property could have serious and devastating consequences, as seen in Mahabharata.

"The woman being considered as the property of the husband and its devastating consequences are well documented in the Mahabharata, wherein Draupadi was staked in a game of dice by none other than her own husband, Yudhishthira, while her other four husbands remained silent spectators. Draupadi had no voice to protest for her dignity," the High Court said.

"When they lost in the game of dice, what followed was the great war of the Mahabharata, leading to mass loss of lives and the wiping out of many family members," the court said.

Further invoking and citing the Mahabharata, the Delhi High Court said, "Despite having such an example to demonstrate the consequences of the absurdity of treating a woman as a chattel, the misogynistic mindset of our society was challenged only when the Supreme Court declared Section 497 of the IPC (adultery) unconstitutional."

In the case from 2010, that the court was hearing, a man had alleged that his wife had been cheating on him and that she used to go to a park under the pretext of exercising after dinner. He also alleged that his wife had sexual relations with her lover at a Lucknow hotel.

However, the Delhi High Court quashed the case and said that even though the woman and another man stayed in the same hotel room, it cannot be led to the presumption that the two engaged in sexual activities.