Marital rape is not rape, argues Indian government

The Indian government has opposed calls to classify consensual sexual acts committed by a husband against his wife as "rape", saying that to do so could have an impact on conjugal relationships and disturb the institution of marriage.

- NAMITA SINGH

In its submission to the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Home Affairs said that while a husband does not have the right to violate his wife's consent, labelling such an act "rape" would be "excessively harsh and therefore disproportionate". This marks the first time that the federal Narendra Modi government has officially opposed calls to abolish the marital rape exception within Indian law.

The submission was made in response to a batch of petitions put before the Supreme Court, which seek the removal of an exception in the country's penal code that states that a sexual act by a man with his own wife, as long as the wife is not under 18 years of age, is not rape.

In a 40-page affidavit, the federal government stated that "a husband certainly does not have any fundamental right to violate the consent of the wife", but emphasised that classifying such a violation as rape could be seen as overly severe. The document cited the need to take a balanced approach to take into account fundamental rights within the context of marriage.