Can’t criminalise marital rape, govt tells high court
The Centre on Tuesday told the Delhi high court that criminalising marital rape “may destabilise the institution of marriage” and would become an easy tool for harassing husbands, a position slammed as retrograde by rights activists.
Responding to a bunch of petitions seeking criminalisation of marital rape, the government said in an affidavit that the Supreme Court and high courts had already pointed to the misuse of IPC’s Section 498A that prescribes punishment for husband for subjecting his wife to cruelty.
“As to what constitutes marital rape and what would constitute marital non-rape needs to be defined precisely before a view on its criminalisation is taken,” it said.
In India, marital rape is not defined in any statute or law. Activists want it to be made a criminal offence, saying it forces women to suffer the worst form of sexual violence in their homes.
Petitioners NGO RIT Foundation, All India Democratic Women’s Association and a marital rape victim have challenged as unconstitutional an exception to Section 375 of IPC and Section 376B. Section 375 that defines rape also says sexual intercourse by a man with his wife aged 15 years or above is not rape even if it is without her consent. Section 376B deals with sexual intercourse by man with his wife during separation.
“If all sexual acts by a man with his own wife qualify to be marital rape, then the judgment as to whether it is a marital rape or not will singularly rest with the wife,” it said, adding there could be no lasting evidence of such acts between a man and his own wife.
Defining marital rape would need a broad-based consensus and a change in the attitude of prosecutors, police and society in general, the Centre said.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of BRICS Summit early next month following the end of a 73-day standoff between the two countries along the border in Doklam.
The two leaders are expected to discuss a whole gamut of matters relating to bilateral relations, including maintaining peace along the 3,500 km border between the two countries.
The ministry of external affairs (MEA) on Tuesday said Modi will visit Xiamen in China’s Fujian province during September 3-5 to attend the 9th BRICS Summit, at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The announcement comes a day after the two Asian nuclear powers withdrew troops from Doklam and ended the standoff in the tri-junction region of India, China and Bhutan.
Bhutan had welcomed the end of the standoff and hoped it would help ensure peace and tranquillity at the tri-junction.
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