Delhi High Court to pronounce its decision on marital rape today

The petitions were filed before the Delhi High Court by the RIT foundation in 2015, All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) in 2017, Khushboo Saifi, a marital rape survivor, in 2017 for criminalisation of marital rape and three petitions by men's rights organisations against the criminalisation of marital rape on various grounds, including allegations of false cases, potential for misuse, and damage to marital relationship and family.

Under the provision of Indian Penal Code section 375 , (exception 2) it decriminalises marital rape or mandates that forced sexual intercourse by a man with his wife after marriage is not rape.

The Delhi High Court after hearing RIT foundation's case who raised the violation of the right to dignity passed an order to issuance of notice to the Centre and Delhi government and the Central Government filed an affidavit by submitting that marital rape cannot be criminalised as it would have a negative impact on Indian society.

The petitioners submitted through their petition that the exception provided violates the right to dignity of woman and also directly violates a woman's right to privacy, choice and bodily autonomy as recognised by the Supreme Court in the right to privacy judgment.

The central government opposed the submission by submitting that marital rape cannot be made a criminal offence as it could become an example that may "destablise the institution of marriage" and become an easy tool for harassing husbands.

It was further submitted that several laws for the protection of women already exist, and that there was no need to criminalise marital rape since a woman can seek recourse to the Domestic Violence Act or the marital cruelty provision provided under the Indian Penal Code.

The Central Government also submitted that it had begun consultations with all states and various stakeholders since a stand cannot be taken on the issue without consultation.

The Delhi High Court Justices Rajiv Shakdher and C Hari Shankar after hearing the detailed submission questions reserved its order for pronouncing the verdict in the pleas seeking to criminalise that forced sex after marriage amounts to marital rape.

Justices Rajiv Shakdher and C Harishankar, while hearing the pleas, raised several questions and concerns when it can defining a new offence and prescribed punishment, a power only of the legislature and whether it was feasible to deny equality and right of choice to a woman "simply due to her marital status".

The court reserved its order on May 11 at about 2:15 pm.