Acquittal of man renews calls in India to criminalise marital rape

Legal exception for such acts a provision adopted from country's colonial-era law

- Debarshi Dasgupta

NEW DELHI - Back in 2019, a lower court in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh convicted a 40-year-old man of rape and "unnatural sex" with his wife, who died within hours of the alleged assault.

The man was found guilty of "culpable homicide not amounting to murder", and sentenced to "rigorous imprisonment" for 10 years.

But in February, the High Court of Chhattisgarh, while hearing his appeal, acquitted him of all charges, arguing that he could not be considered guilty of either non-consensual sex or non-consensual unnatural sex because India does not recognise marital rape.

This controversial acquittal stunned many, and renewed focus on an ongoing campaign for India to strike down the legal exception for marital rape, a provision adopted from its colonial-era law dating back to the 19th century.

Rape within marriage is illegal in more than 100 countries, including Singapore. But India is among nations, including Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, where it is not considered a crime.

Under the Indian Penal Code, which was in force for more than 160 years, rape could lead to life imprisonment or even the death penalty, but marital rape was not recognised as a crime.

This exception was retained in the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) criminal code, which came into effect in July 2024 and replaced the Indian Penal Code. The BNS states that sexual intercourse or acts by a man with his wife, provided she is above 18 years old, are not rape.

Ms Mariam Dhawale, general secretary of the All India Democratic Women's Association (Aidwa), told The Straits Times that this exception for marital rape is "a statement of patriarchy that tells the wife she has no right over her body" and that she must "please her husband as and when he wants it".