Decriminalization of Adultery in India

Adultery, is the voluntary sexual intercourse of a married person with a third person other than the spouse. Under Indian law, Section 497 IPC makes adultery a criminal offence, and prescribes a punishment of imprisonment upto five years and a fine. The offence of adultery under Section 497 is very limited in scope as compared to the misconduct of adultery as understood in divorce proceedings. The offence is committed only by a man who had sexual intercourse with the wife of another man without the latter’s consent or connivance. The wife is not punishable for being an adulteress, or even as an abettor of the offence.