Terming the Delhi High Court's (HC) split verdict on the issue of criminalisation of marital rape "disappointing", some women activists here expressed hope that Supreme Court will exercise "much more wisdom" in matter, saying current provisions are discriminatory against one category of rape victims.
Following verdict, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal said that marital rape is a reality and it is high time that action was taken against it. "Don't know how many more years we will have to wait to change a British era law! Marital rape is a reality and it's high time we take strongest action against it!" she tweeted. Noting that HC has "simply passed buck" to the Supreme Court in matter, All India Progressive Women's Association member Kavita Krishnan said: "The verdict by High Court is very disappointing and upsetting.
“The legal issue is very clear and it is discriminatory against one category of rape victims —wives. I hope that Supreme Court will show courage and clarity needed for removing this shameful law."
The Delhi High Court delivered a split verdict on issue of criminalisation of marital rape with one of judges favouring striking down the provision, and other holding it was not unconstitutional. The Division Bench granted leave to the parties to file an appeal before Supreme Court. Vani Subramanian, a member of women's group Saheli Trust, questioned that if domestic violence is a crime, then how is it that marital rape not a crime. She also pointed out that just because a woman got married, does not mean that she has given consent once and for all.
"It is a very sad day. If this (marital rape) has happened, we need to acknowledge it, we cannot only consider the cases where it is very brutal. A woman's consent is central to this and the idea of equality, of bodily integrity.
There needs to be some clarity on violence, that violence is violence wherever it happened. This is also a part of domestic violence. So domestic violence is a crime so how come rape is not a crime. I hope the Supreme Court will exercise much more wisdom," Subramanian said. Meanwhile, anti-rape activist Yogita Bhayana is content that at least a discussion around marital rape has begun. She believes as the matter has been referred to a Bench of the Supreme Court, there will be a robust discussion on the matter."I am happy that it has been referred to Supreme Court Bench because now the order will be unbiased. The discourse around the matter has started. One year ago, people were not even talking about this. Now they have started discussing it," she said.
The petitioners had challenged the constitutionality of the marital rape exception under Section 375 IPC (rape) on the grounds that it discriminated against married women who are sexually assaulted by their husbands.
Under the exception given in Section 375 of the IPC, sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his wife, the wife not being minor, is not rape.
While Justice Rajiv Shakdher, who headed the Division Bench, favoured striking down the marital rape exception, Justice C Hari Shankar said the exception under the IPC is not unconstitutional and was based on an intelligible differentia.