Delhi High Court hears petitions on criminalising marital rape

Marital bond gives immunity against anything and if an exception is brought, it will change the meaning of the act, the Delhi High Court has said.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar made the observation while hearing a bunch of pleas seeking to criminalise marital rape.

"Marriage bond gives you immunity against anything. Once you bring exception it will change the meaning of the whole act," the bench said.

Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Karuna Nandy submitted that 52 countries in the world have explicitly criminalised marital rape.

"The rule of law only covers the public domain. Domestic violence at home is beyond the scope of the law. In a private domain, there is an urgent need of a law that covers the aspect of protection of women. Laws on sexual violence are the emerging need of a society. In many countries, marital rape is still not criminalised," she said.

She also said that in the United Kingdom, the House of Lords has made it clear after 250 years and described marital rape as an anachronistic and offensive legal fiction.

The bench was also informed that countries, including Nepal, Uganda, South Africa, Australia and Canada have criminalised marital rape.

"Consent is necessary before doing anything even in married life. If before marriage I had sex with a woman, it is punishable with rape but if I marry that woman and do the same thing then its immune. Very simple to understand. The Union of India doesn't use the word consent; it's of no use for them. The studies I am showing will reveal that levels of violence are lower in unmarried life in comparison to married life," the petitioner added.

The court will continue hearing the matter on Wednesday.

WHAT HC OBSERVED

• A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar observed that marital bond gives immunity against anything and an exception will change the act’s meaning