Chhattisgarh HC declares intercourse by husband ‘Not Rape’

By
Harshita Sehgal
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People are outraged as Chhattisgarh HC declared sexual intercourse by husband, not rape:

In Indian law marital rape is still not considered an offense. And to add to this disgusting outlook, the Chhattisgarh High Court recently ruled that copulation by a husband with his legally wedded wife, even if by force and against her wish, does not translate to rape.

Justice N K Chandravanshi relied upon an exception under Section 375 of the IPC, which states that “sexual intercourse or sexual act by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape.” 

The court announced the ruling after discharging a man who was facing trial for rape due to a complaint by his wife. But also ordered that charges be framed against the accused under Section 377 of IPC for his act of unnatural offenses against his wife. 

The accused’s wife claimed that she was subjected to cruelty, abuse, and dowry harassment just days after getting married to him. And this is what the court ruled:

In this case, the complainant is legally wedded wife of applicant No. 1, therefore, sexual intercourse or any sexual act with her by applicant No. 1/husband would not constitute an offence of rape, even if it was by force or against her wish. Hence, he is entitled to be discharged from the charge under Section 376 of the I.P.C. 

Right now marital rape is not considered a crime but there have been some judgements by the court that provides relief to the victims. For instance, earlier this month we saw the Kerala High Court ruled that marital rape is a valid reason to file a divorce

But this is how people reacted to the current decision: 

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