'Non-consensual sex with wife aged 15-18 years should be treated as rape': Delhi LG writes to MHA

In a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena suggested that non-consensual intercourse with a wife who is between the ages of 15 and 18 years old should be constitutes rape and therefore punishable under the IPC (India Penal Code), according to sources with the Delhi Police.

Additionally, it will eliminate the inconsistency between the current IPC rules and the POCSO Act, which covers offences against anybody under the age of 18, according to sources.

"Saxena has sent a proposal to the MHA recommending striking down of Exception 2 of Section 375 of Indian Penal Code (IPC), that provides if a girl child between 15 and 18 years is married, her husband can have non-consensual sexual intercourse with her, without being penalised under the IPC," the sources said. 

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"Non-consensual intercourse with a wife between the ages of 15 and 18 will constitute rape and be penalised under IPC if the recommendation is adopted and the IPC modified. It will also remove the discrepancy between the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which is applicable to offences against anyone up till 18 years and the prevailing provisions of the IPC," according to sources.

The Delhi Police and Law Department made the motion in regard to a letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs. 

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MHA's response 

In view of a Writ Petition filed in the Delhi High Court challenging the legality of Exception 2 of Section 375 of the IPC on the grounds that it contradicts Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution and is also in conflict with the POCSO Act's definition of a child as a person under the age of 18, the home ministry had requested the city government's opinion on the matter.

The MHA had requested opinions and suggestions from the state governments and Union Territories because the concurrent list's subject of "criminal law" is implemented by the states and Union Territories and has broad effects.

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(With inputs from PTI)