India decriminalizes adultery

The Indian Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a law criminalizing adultery, calling it archaic and unconstitutional. The five judges voted unanimously to abolish the 158-year-old law, which made adultery punishable by up to five years in prison.

The law penalized men for sexual relations with married women without their husbands’ consent but did not allow women to prosecute their adulterous husbands. Chief Justice Dipak Misra said adultery can serve as grounds for divorce but cannot be judged as a criminal offense.

“It’s time to say husband is not the master of wife,” Misra said. “Legal sovereignty of one sex over another is wrong.”

The ruling is the latest in a string of social reform cases in India. Earlier this month, the court legalized homosexuality and is considering whether to lift restrictions on menstruating women entering the Sabarimala temple in Kerala state.