V. REVATHI vs UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of Sections 198(1) and 198(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, ruling that these provisions do not allow a wife to prosecute her adulterous husband, thereby not constituting hostile discrimination under Article 14 of the Constitution of India. The Court reasoned that the law promotes social good by encouraging couples to resolve marital issues without resorting to criminal prosecution. It clarified that the law punishes the outsider who disrupts the marital relationship, and the absence of a right for a wife to prosecute her husband does not amount to discrimination against her, as both spouses are not allowed to prosecute each other under the law.