Epitome of marital rape in India


Author: A. Sneha Sree, Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University


To the Point


Married women are unable to refuse sexual relations due to Exception II of Section 375 IPC, which assumes automatic consent within the confines of marriage. Despite the constitutional assurances of equality, dignity, and bodily autonomy, India has yet to recognize marital rape within its legal definition of rape, unlike the majority of other nations that have criminalized it. This matter has garnered attention following recent judicial decisions, discussions on human rights, and ongoing legal challenges. There is an urgent need for legal reform, as highlighted by the Delhi High Court’s divided ruling in 2022, pending cases in the Supreme Court, and increasing advocacy from women’s rights organizations. This blog delves into constitutional violations, legal gaps, societal resistance, international perspectives, and possible solutions to address this critical issue.


Abstract


This study critically examines the evolution of women’s rights law in India while highlighting the impact of marital rape on victims and society. It highlights how the continued exclusion of marital rape from criminal prosecution violates basic constitutional rights, jeopardizes gender equality, and maintains an environment of impunity. In order to bring India’s legal system into line with contemporary human rights standards, this paper makes the case for the immediate criminalization of marital rape. It accomplishes this by looking at international human rights frameworks, legislative developments, and court precedents.


Use of Legal Jargon


Despite being a grave violation of bodily autonomy and human dignity, marital rape is largely unrecognized as a criminal offense under Indian law because of the exception clause in Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which excludes forced sexual contact between a husband and his wife (who is at least 18 years old) from the definition of rape. This legal exception flagrantly breaches the principles of gender equality since it denies married women equal protection and upholds patriarchal notions that marriage implies permanent sexual consent. The Indian Constitution also guarantees several fundamental and constitutional rights, including the right to equality (Article 14), the right to nondiscrimination (Article 15), and the right to life and personal liberty (Article 21), which includes the right to bodily autonomy and honesty. Human rights organizations and legal entities have advocated for legal reforms, but progress has been hampered by social and political resistance. The continuous legalization of marital rape also violates India’s international human rights responsibilities, including those under CEDAW, which mandate that the country protect women from all forms of violence. The value of permission and privacy in marriage has been recognized in some court decisions, but the marital rape exception has not yet been overturned. In the end, criminalizing marital rape is crucial to upholding social justice, ensuring gender equality, and reinforcing the requirement that consent be respected in all relationships, including marriage.


The Proof


The Domestic Violence Act of 2005 makes reference to marital rape by any form of sexual abuse in a marriage or cohabitation relationship. However, it only provides civil remedies. Marital rape victims in India are not allowed to report their abuser criminally. In 2000, the Law Commission of India rejected the need to abolish the marital rape exception in its 172nd report, which looked at several suggestions to change India’s laws on sexual violence. Issues with the Exception for Marital Rape  As a result, the marital rape exception creates a legal fiction whereby the law views a married couple’s relationship as immune from rape, even in cases where all other rape-related conditions are satisfied.  Marital rape not only hurts and discriminates against women, but Moreover, exceptions are wholly arbitrary. If a sexual attack takes place five minutes before a marriage ceremony but not five minutes after, it is deemed rape. Section 375 of the IPC offers legal immunity in situations when the connection has been formed, even though sexual assault in the context of a live-in relationship or any other personal relationship Consequently, married women are excluded from the protections afforded by the law to all other women due to the marital rape exception.Arguments “Against Making Marital Rape a Crime: The criminalization of marital rape has caused concern among a number of individuals, including men’s rights advocates and legal scholars, primarily due to the abuse of the legislation.”


Case laws


“Chandrima Das v. The Chairman, Railway Board. According to the Supreme Court, rape is a crime that impacts the entire society rather than just being a crime punishable by the Indian Penal Code”.
Bodhisattwa Gautam v. Subhra Chakraborty,”in which the court ruled that rape is an act of hostility intended to degrade and humiliate women rather than just being a sexual offense. Therefore, a person’s right to live with human dignity is fundamentally at odds with the idea of the marital exception, which exempts marital rape from the list of crimes. It permits the institution of marriage to violate a person’s autonomy and well-being.
Despite not being specifically stated in the Indian Constitution, the Supreme Court has acknowledged that the right to privacy is implicitly protected under Article 21 in a number of cases,
Kharak Singh v. State of U.P.”The right to privacy under Article 21 includes the freedom from needless interference and the right to be left alone. Any kind of non-consensual sexual activity violates sexual privacy, which is a fundamental component of this right. A married woman’s right to sexual privacy is violated by the idea of a marital exemption to rape because it requires against her will, into a sexual relationship.
State of Maharashtra v. Madhkar Narayan case that every woman has the right to her sexual privacy and that anyone cannot infringe upon it at will. As a result, the marital exception doctrine, which decriminalizes marital rape, violates a married woman’s right to sexual privacy and makes it unlawful. An individual “must be able to make decisions about their own body and enter into intimate relationships voluntarily in order to have the right to sexual privacy. This right is violated, as are the limits of one’s own autonomy and dignity, by any non-consensual sexual act, including those that take place within a marriage. This fundamental right is compromised by the marital exception doctrine, which grants A spouse has the power to violate their partner’s sexual privacy by forcing sexual relations on them against their will.
State of Maharashtra vs. Madhukar Narayan Mandikar case. It is depressing to see, though, how the wife has been conveniently left out of the court’s “consideration, denying her autonomy over her own body.When comparing the criminalization of rape by a stranger with the non-criminalization of marital rape, this discrepancy becomes clear. In this case, the court’s ruling upheld a sex worker’s right to decline sex if they so choose.


Conclusion


Arguments based on cultural, social, and familial contexts are frequently made by those who oppose making marital rape a crime, but they ultimately fail to address the core values of equality, dignity, and autonomy. Marital rape’s exclusion from criminal law demonstrates a disrespect for women’s individual rights and reinforces gender-based discrimination. The legal system must change as India works to preserve the values of justice and human rights in order to protect women from all types of violence, including that which is committed within the institution of marriage.


FAQS


Q1. What is Indian law’s definition of marital rape and how is it handled?               
husband’s forced or non-consensual sexual relations with his wife is referred to as marital rape. Because of an exception under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which states that sexual contact between a man and his own wife is not rape, it is not a crime in India if the wife is older than eighteen.

Q2. What constitutional and fundamental rights are violated by the marital rape exception?
Several constitutional rights protected by the Indian Constitution are violated by the marital rape exception. By treating married and unmarried women differently, it violates Article 14, which guarantees equality before the law. Additionally, it is against Article 15, which forbids sex-based discrimination. Above all, it violates Article 21, which protects the right to life and personal freedom, including the freedom to make decisions about one’s body, bodily integrity, and dignity. The law violates married women’s fundamental rights by failing to protect them from rape.

Q3. What are the justifications for making marital rape a crime in India?                 
eProponents of making marital rape a crime contend that consent is necessary for all sexual relationships, including marriage. The existing law upholds damaging patriarchal notions that marriage entails unreserved sexual consent and that a wife is her husband’s property. Making marital rape a crime would align Indian law with international human rights norms and respect the values of equality, dignity, and bodily autonomy. Additionally, it would give many women who endure silent suffering in abusive marriages legal recourse.

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