Sex with minor wife is rape: SC
CLOSING THE LOOPHOLE Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code says sex with a girl who is below 18 is rape, but it had an exception that allowed a man to have sex with his underage wife, 15 or above, even without her consent If a minor wife complains of forced sexual intercourse within a year of marriage, police needs to take action
SUPREME COURT VERDICT
The Supreme Court on Wednesday criminalised sex between a man and his underage wife provided the woman files a complaint within a year, a landmark order that fixes the age of consent at 18 for all girls.
“If a minor wife complains of forced sexual intercourse within a year of marriage, police needs to take action,” the court said hearing a petition that called for scrapping of a provision in the rape law that allowed a man to have sex with his underage wife even without consent.
The order also comes at a time when the court is hearing petitions calling for marital rape to be declared a crime.
The verdict would have prospective effect and have no bearing on marriages already solemnised, the court said, addressing concerns of the government.
Defending the rape law exception, the government had told the court during an earlier hearing that India had 23 million child brides and criminalising the “consummation of the marriages” as rape would not be appropriate.
In India rape and child marriage laws disagreed on age of consent. Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code says sex with a girl
NEWDELHI:
who is below 18 is rape but it had an exception, which allowed a man to have sex with his underage wife, 15 or above, even without her consent.
The provision was also contrary to the child marriage act that puts 18 as the age of marriage for girls and 21 for men.
On Wednesday, the court read down the exception.
Contesting the exception, an NGO, Independent Thought, had told court the inconsistency had split girls below the age of 18 into two categories.
“One, those who are not married and for them, the age of sexual consent is 18. Then there are those who are married and a husband can have sexual intercourse with his wife if she is above the age if 15, irrespective of her consent,” it said during a hearing.
The discrepancies emerged after Parliament in 2013 passed a law that raised the age of consent for a girl from 16 to 18. Indian law doesn’t have a provision of age of consent for boys.
The rationale for raising the age of consent was that a younger girl was incapable of realising the consequences of her decision.
But, the government had told the court that child marriage was a reality in India. It had therefore decided to retain the exception in Section 375.
The government had said in an affidavit that 46% of the married women between the ages of 18 and 29 had their wedding ceremony before they were 18.