The Centre has pleaded for not criminalising marital rape in an affidavit filed in response to pleas seeking its criminalisation.
What is the case about?
Section 375 of the IPC dealing with rape holds an exception that “sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under 15 years of age, is not rape”
No other statute or law recognises marital rape, and victims only have recourse to civil remedies provided under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
Presently, the Delhi High Court is hearing petitions seeking the declaration of exception under Section 375 of the IPC as unconstitutional.
This is on the ground that it discriminated against married women being sexually assaulted by their husbands.
The Justice Verma committee, formed in the wake of the 2012 Delhi gangrape, had also recommended removing the exception.
What is the centre's rationale in arguing for decriminalisation?
The centre argues that criminalising marital rape would destabilise the institution of marriage and be an easy tool for harassing the husbands.
It has cited the observations of the SC and various HCs on growing misuse of Section 498A (harassment caused to a married woman by her husband and in-laws) of IPC.
It has highlighted that the decision on girl’s minimum age as 15 years to marry was taken under the amended rape law to protect a couple against criminalisation of their sexual activity.
Also, as of now, marital rape has not been defined in a statute or law, while only the offence of rape is defined under Section 375 of the IPC.
Centres, thus, emphasizes that defining marital rape would call for a broad based consensus of the society as the perceptions on this broadly differs.
Also, merely deleting the exception to Section 375 may not stop marital rape but widespread moral and social awareness can only prove to be solution.
It also mentioned that criminal law was in the Concurrent List and implemented by the states, the cultures of which are varied to a large extent which have to be factored in.
It referred to the reports of the Law Commission and the Parliamentary Standing Committee saying they did not recommend criminalisation of marital rape.
