Exception 2 to Section 375 reads as follows, “Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under 15 years of age, is not rape.”
Justice Rajiv Shakdher struck down the marital rape exception (MRE) as being violative of Articles 14, 15(1), 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution, while Justice Hari Shanker held that the MRE was constitutionally valid. Given the split decision and the importance of the issue, the judges unanimously granted a certificate of leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. Appeals have already begun to be filed by the parties before the apex court. It is expected that instead of the matter being referred to a three-judge bench in the Delhi High Court, it will be decided straightaway in the Supreme Court. Till then, however, the MRE will continue on the statute books in India.
The split verdict reveals two completely different worldviews held by the two judges. As Justice Shakdher notes, the colonial history of MRE discloses that it is “steeped in patriarchy and misogyny”, and has contributed to the diminishing of freedoms won by human beings. His judgment centres the autonomy, dignity and privacy of a woman, with the institution of marriage receding in the background. Thus, he observes that marital rape “needs to be called out as rape” as a way for society to express its “disapproval” concerning the husband’s conduct.
This story is from the May 30, 2022 edition of India Today.
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This story is from the May 30, 2022 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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