The Supreme Court has ruled today that adultery is no longer a criminal offense, bringing an end to the 158-year old law that “treats a husband as the master’, and found it as unconstitutional. “The adultery law is arbitrary and it offends the dignity of a woman,” Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, who led the five-judge bench said, reports Hindustan Times.
The law punished a man who has an affair with a woman "without the consent or connivance of" her husband, with five years in jail or fine or both. There was no punishment for the woman, who was seen as the victim, NDTV reported.
