Delhi High Court verdict on criminalising marital rape today | All you need to know
India Today
The Delhi High Court will announce its judgment on the petitions challenging the exception to the rape law under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on Wednesday.
The Delhi High Court, which is hearing a batch of petitions challenging the exception to the rape law under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), will pronounce its judgment on Wednesday, May 11.
Exception 2 of IPC Section 375 (rape) doesn’t consider forceful sexual intercourse by a man with his wife, who is not under 15 years of age, as rape.
A bench of Justices Rajiv Shakdher and C Hari Shankar will pronounce the verdict in the four pleas seeking to criminalise forced sex within a marriage, or marital rape.
The four petitions were filed by the RIT foundation in 2015, the All India Demoractic Women's Association (AIDWA) in 2017, Khushboo Saifi, a marital rape survivor, in 2017, and one by a man accused of rape by his wife.
At least three petitions by men's rights organisations have also been filed before the Delhi High Court against the criminalisation of marital rape on various grounds, including allegations of false cases, potential for misuse, and damage to marital relationship and family.
ALSO READ | Marriage not license to unleash brutal beast on wife: Karnataka HC on rape case against husband
One intervention plea also raised arguments for a gender-neutral definition of rape to ensure that men are not “unfairly targeted”.
