Marital Rape judgement: Delhi high court delivers split verdict on criminalisation of marital rape

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday delivered a split verdict on the issue of criminalisation of marital rape and granted liberty to the petitioners to move the Supreme Court on this matter. Read More

Earlier this year in January, the union government-led by Bharatiya Janata Party told the Delhi high court that just because other countries, mostly western, have criminalised marital rape does not necessarily mean India should follow them blindly. Read the story here

During a session in the Parliament on February 2, Minister of Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani, in response to Communist Party of India member of Parliament Binoy Viswam’s supplementary query on marital rape, had said that the protection of women and children is a priority but condemning every marriage as violent and every man a rapist is not advisable.

Earlier, the central government had stated that considering the social impact involved, intimate family relations being the subject matter, and this Court not having the privilege of being fully familiarised with ground realities prevailing in different parts of society of this large, populous and diverse country, taking a decision merely based upon the arguments of a few lawyers may not serve the ends of justice.

Karuna Nundy, one of the lawyers fighting to criminalise marital rape, says will move the Supreme Court, reported NDTV. 

The petitioners had challenged the constitutionality of the marital rape exception under Section 375 IPC (rape) on the ground that it discriminated against married women who are sexually assaulted by their husbands. Under the exception given in Section 375 of the IPC, sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his wife, the wife not being minor, is not rape.

According to the order passed by Justice Rajiv Shakdher, husbands can be held criminally liable for sexual relations without the consent of the wife while Justice C Harishankar showed disagreement with this view.

Exception 2 of Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code decriminalises marital rape and mandates that sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under 18 years of age, is not rape.

Following the split verdict, the Delhi high court granted liberty to the petitioners to move the Supreme Court on this matter. 

Delhi high court delivers split verdict on marital rape, while Justice J Rajiv Shakdher rules in favour of striking down IPC provision, Justice Hari Shankar say it doesn’t violate any law

The Delhi high court will deliver its verdict on Wednesday on a bunch of petitions seeking to criminalise marital rape.