Clear Your Stance on Marital Rape by Feb 15: SC to Centre

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Central Government to declare its stance on petitions seeking the criminalization of marital rape by February 15. Under the existing Indian laws related to rape, marital rape is treated as an exception.

A three-judge Bench led by the Chief Justice of the apex court, Justice DY Chandrachud asked all the parties to file their written submissions by March 3. The matter will be taken up for final hearing on March 21, 2023.

Earlier the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the SC Bench that the Centre is interested to file a counter affidavit as the issue has legal as well as social impacts. According to the Solicitor General, the Centre has urged the states to give their opinions on the issue.

The Bench appointed advocates Pooja Dhar and Jaikriti Jageda as nodal counsel to prepare a common compilation of all the petitions, affidavits, counter-affidavits, and written submissions in relation to the case for the convenience of judges and lawyers.

There are three sets of petitions related to marital rape. The first one is by a Karnataka man who is being tried for marital rape. The top court had on July 20, 2022 stayed the verdict of the Karnataka high court that put the man on trial for allegedly raping his wife ignoring Exception 2 to Section 375 IPC that treated such cases as an exception to rape.

The second set of petitions is the appeals filed against a split verdict delivered by the Delhi High Court on May 11, 2022, on petitions seeking to criminalize marital rape.

The third set of petitions is in the nature of PILs challenging the constitutional validity of Exception 2 to Section 375 IPC that treated such cases as an exception to the main provision on rape.

As per Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, rape is sexual intercourse without consent and against the will of a woman. But Exception 2 to Section 375 says sexual intercourse by a man with his wife, who is 15 or above, is not rape even if it is without her consent and against her will.

In October 2017, the SC ruled that sex with one’s minor wife would amount to rape as it read down the exception to Section 375 IPC which said sexual intercourse by a man with his wife, not under the age of 15 would not amount to rape.

The Supreme Court on September 29, 2022, said a woman becoming pregnant as a result of non-consensual sexual intercourse by her husband was entitled to seek medical termination of such pregnancy.