Section 497 of the IPC, Drafted in 1860, criminalises adultery with up to five years imprisonment, while defining the perpetrator as whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of another man, without the consent or connivance of that man, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, is guilty of the offence of adultery


CJI Dipak Misra says the magnificent beauty of the democracy is I, you and we. Section 497 is manifestly arbitrary, offends dignity of women.

The CJI is reading out the verdict on behalf of himself and Justice AM Khanwilkar. He said, "Adultery can be ground for civil issues including dissolution of marriage but it cannot be a criminal offence."


The CJI states he has relied heavily on Triple Talaq judgment of Justice Rohinton Nariman.


The CJI says mere adultery cannot be a crime, unless something else is added. The Chief Justice says a law which affects equality of women is manifestly arbitrary.