The Allahabad High Court ruled that marital rape is not an offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) if the wife is over the age of 18. The court made these observations while acquitting a husband of the charges of allegedly committing an “unnatural offence” against his wife.
In its order, the bench of Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra also noted that there is no provision like Section 377 IPC in the proposed Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita (which is likely to replace the Indian Penal Code), as reported by live law.
The High Court also stated that since the petitions seeking the criminalisation of marital rape are still pending before the Supreme Court, there is no criminal penalty for marital rape when the wife is over 18 years of age until the apex court decides on the matter.
In her plea, the complainant allegedly said that the marriage was an abusive relationship, and the husband allegedly subjected her to verbal and physical abuse and coercion, which also included acts of sodomy. As per the law, she also emphasised that the accused demanded a Fortuner car and Rs. 40 lakhs in cash, pressuring her to obtain a dowry from her parents.
While the court acquitted the husband of charges under Section 377, the court convicted him under sections pertaining to cruelty by the husband or relatives of the husband (498-A) and voluntarily causing hurt (IPC 323), as per live law.