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IPC 1860REPEALED

Section 498

Enticing or taking away or detaining with criminal intent a married woman

Replaced by: BNS 84

BailableCognizable: Non-CognizableAny Magistrate
THE STATUTE

Original Text

Whoever takes or entices away any woman who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of any other man... with intent that she may have illicit intercourse with any person... shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.

Simplified

Section 498 penalised taking or enticing a married woman with the intent of illicit intercourse — a provision that reflected Victorian-era ideas about marital sanctity. It was specifically retained in the BNS (as Section 84) even after the decriminalisation of adultery under Section 497. The distinction: adultery (Section 497) was about the consensual sexual act itself; Section 498 is about the 'taking or enticing away' of a married woman — the act of removing her from her husband's care. The BNS preserves this as it deals with the 'taking' conduct, not the consensual act itself.

Legal Evolution

Section 498 on enticing or taking away a married woman preceded the more commonly invoked Section 498A (matrimonial cruelty, inserted 1983) by over a century. Enacted in an era when wives had almost no independent legal status, it criminalized the enticing away of a married woman from her husband — reflecting the husband's proprietary interest in his wife. Courts have modernized the provision to focus on the element of criminal intent rather than property-based conceptions of marriage.

Landmark Precedents

S. Khushboo v. Kanniammal (2010)

(2010) 5 SCC 600
RELEVANCE

Section 498's criminal intent element limits its application to actual enticing/taking away of a married woman — mere public commentary about relationships does not attract this provision.

Practical Scenarios

"Enticing a woman to leave her husband by false promises, with the intent of sexual exploitation — Section 498."

Common Queries

Yes — the BNS equivalent (Section 84) remains enforceable. It deals with the 'taking or enticing away' conduct, which is distinct from the consensual act of adultery itself.