According to IPC Section 497 Adultery- 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, and shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both. In such case the wife shall not be punishable as an abettor. I am explaining the law here in points. 1) Only the male (wife's lover/third party male) who has committed the adultery is punished 2) Yes, the wife might go around and sleep around with 100 men, but those 100 men can be booked for adultery by the husband. 3) Only the husband has the right to initiate a case against the adulterer of her wife (so not any one else can complain like in case of murder or rape, so government has no/limited business in it) 3) The wife has no remedy if her husband commits adultery with either a married or an unmarried girl. (so if you are a man and planning to commit adultery better do it with an unmarried girl - there will be no criminal liability for committing adultery with a unmarried girl above 18 years of age. In case the other woman is married, the wife can ask the other woman's husband to file a complaint against her husband) 4) There is no punishment for the wife Now when one can say that adultery has been committed: i) there must be sexual intercourse with the consent of the wife and the penetration must be sufficient to constitute sexual intercourse necessary to the offence, (so if the wife goes around with 100 men and kisses those 100 men, the husband cannot initiate a case for adultery) ii) knowledge and reasonable belief that the woman is married to another man and that marriage should be lawful and iii) the husband who has complained of the adultery had not consented or connived the act (If the husband and her wife has consented for threesome, wife swap, go ahead and enjoy it - its not an offence) Punishment for adultery The man can be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or both. The women did not get any punishment as the law was made in 1860. At that time, the concept of polygamy was prevalent. Women did not get proper care, love and attention from their husband. Hence it was considered natural for them to fall for others. But now, the situation has changed. This law, which was fine for 19th century, is discriminatory for men. Also, as mentioned earlier, a woman cannot file a complaint of adultery against her husband. Therefore, the law should be amended. 1. Both husband and wife should have the right to complain against his/her spouse. 2. There should be no sentence; however, adultery could be used as an allegation for divorse. All the European countries have decriminalised adultery, and the law should not interfere in personal lives of two individuals.