Marital Rape Law In India Need To Change The Law

Marital Rape Law In India Need To Change The Law

- Dr.Shobha Ram Sharma

Afghanistan’s president Hamid Karzai approved a marriage Bill for Shias (thereby making it a law) that gave husband absolute control over their wife. As per this law, wives cannot refuse if their husband demands sex. In other words, they can be legally raped by husbands. Same law prevails in India. In India, marital rape is still not an offence, unless the wife is below the age of fifteen. Sec. 375 of Indian penal code, 1860 makes a specific exemption for marital rape by saying that “sexual intercourse by a man with his wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape.” Sexual intercourse with a woman below the age of fifteen is rape irrespective of whether the accused is married to woman or not.

In October 2006, India brought in a new piece of legislation namely the protection of women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, which has created a civil remedy for victims of domestic abuse. However marital rape is not a criminal offence even under this new legislation.

On 04.09.2009, the Delhi High Court raised questions on conflicting laws dealing with rape under which a man who has raped his wife was treated leniently even as others were handed out stringent punishments.

A three judge Bench comprising justice Vikramjit Sen, Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Mukul Mudgal, heard a petition filed by the father of an under aged married girl seeking striking down of the sub-sections of Section 375 and 376. He asked the government to justify its stand on the matter as the clauses do not consider rape of a woman by her husband a crime.