The Madhya Pradesh High Court in a recent order noted that any sexual act, including unnatural sex, by a husband with his wife will not constitute rape as marital rape is not legally recognised in India adding that the consent of the wife in such cases is immaterial.
According to the publication, the High Court order was issued on May 1 after the High Court bench of Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia quashed an FIR lodged against a man by his wife accusing him of having unnatural sex with her on multiple occasions.
In the FIR, the woman claimed that after her marriage, when she went to her matrimonial house for the second time in June 2019, her husband committed unnatural sex with her on multiple occasions.
The court further observed that for a woman, not below the age of 15 years, residing with her husband during a valid marriage, sexual acts by her husband will not be considered rape.
The bench also cited an exception to this law, stating that in the case of Section 376-B of IPC, where the sexual act is conducted with his wife during the separate living on account of judicial separation or otherwise, it would be considered rape.
It is important to note that Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) defines rape as all forms of sexual assault involving non-consensual intercourse with a woman.
However, as per Exception 2 to Section 375, sexual intercourse between a husband and a wife aged over 15 years of age does not constitute “rape” and thus prevents such acts from prosecution.
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