Woman dies of husband's brutal sexual act, HC cites marital rape ground to acquit him

How the case unfolded

- HT Correspondent

A 40-year-old man who allegedly indulged in brutal unnatural sex with his wife, which eventually led to her death, has been exonerated by the Chhattisgarh high court on the grounds that a man cannot be prosecuted for marital rape in India.

In his judgment on Monday, a single-judge bench of Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas set aside the conviction of an accused, acquitting him of all charges under sections 376 (rape) and 377 (unnatural sex) and 304 (culpable homicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and ordered his immediate release from jail.

The high court verdict cited Exception 2 under Section 375 of IPC, which exempts a husband from prosecution for raping his wife, underscoring the continued legal immunity afforded to marital rape. "It is quite clear that if the wife is not below 15 years of age, then any sexual intercourse or sexual act by the husband with his wife cannot be termed as rape... As such, the absence of consent of the wife for an unnatural act loses its importance," held justice Vyas.

He said that since Exception 2 under Section 375 provides that sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife is not a rape, "if any unnatural sex as defined under section 377 is committed by the husband with his wife, then it can also not be treated to be an offence".