Marriage Not License To Ignore Consent: Court Told Over Marital Rape
NDTV
The court's declaration criminalising marital rape would go a long way in realising the constitutional goal of equal respect and dignity to all, said a lawyer representing an NGO.
Marital rape will remain condoned until it becomes an explicit offence and such declaration would recognise that marriage is not a universal license to ignore consent, two NGOs argued before the Delhi High Court on Monday.
Counsel appearing for petitioner NGOs RIT Foundation and All India Democratic Women's Association submitted that specific labelling of the offence would not only deter it but also promote the boundaries of the “conjugal right to sex” concerning the bodily integrity of wives.
A bench headed by Justice Rajiv Shakdher was hearing a batch of petitions to strike down the exemption from prosecution for the offence of rape granted to husbands under the Indian Penal Code.
Lawyer Karuna Nundy, appearing for the petitioner NGOs, said that the court's declaration criminalising marital rape would go a long way in realising the constitutional goal of equal respect and dignity to all.
