India's top court has ruled that adultery is no longer a crime, declaring the colonial-era law that punished the offence unconstitutional and discriminatory.
The court ruled unanimously on Thursday that Section 497, a 158-year-old law," perpetuates the subordinate status of women, denies dignity and segxwal autonomy, and is based on gender stereotypes".
The law criminalised consensual segxwal relations between a man and a married woman without the consent of her husband.
Under the law, a man convicted could have faced up to five years in prison and women could neither file a complaint nor be held liable for adultery.
Section 497 has been criticised by rights groups for depriving women of dignity and individual choice, and treating them as the property of men.
The Indian government had opposed the decriminalisation of adultery, stating in court earlier that this would erode "the sanctity of marriage and the fabric of society at large".
But women's rights campaigners welcomed the ruling on Thursday.
"Scrapping it was long overdue and is very welcome," Kavita Krishnan, secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association, told Al Jazeera.
Al Jazèera
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