A bench of Allahabad High Court stated that marital rape is not an offense if the wife is 18 or above while acquitting a man who was charged with “unnatural offense”. This comes after his wife filed a case against him in August 2013 alleging that he compelled her to indulge in unnatural activity with him following a verbal argument.

The bench of Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra was dealing with revision challenging the judgment passed by the Trial Court in a case registered under 377 of the IPC.

The Court however clarified that as per the Judgment of the Supreme Court in the Independent Thought vs. Union of India (2017), any sexual intercourse between a man and his wife aged between 15 to 18 years would amount to rape.

In August 2013, the prosecutrix, who is also the wife of the accused as well as the informant, filed an FIR against her husband under sections 498-A, 323, 504, 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and section ¾ of the D. P. Act, reported Live Law.

The complainant woman stated in her complaint that her husband demanded a car and dowry Rs 40 Lakh. The husband allegedly subjected her to verbal abuse, physical violence, and acts of sodomy.

She further alleged that on August 9, 2013, he allegedly compelled her for unnatural relation following verbal abuse. However, the husband made all the allegations.

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The appellant Court observed that the accused had committed unnatural offences such as sodomy and oral sex against the prosecutrix without her consent and therefore he is liable to be convicted and sentenced for that offence. High Court observed that marital rape has not been criminalized in this country as yet.

The bench referred to the case of Independent thought vs. Union of India where it was held that “a child is a person who is below 18 years of age under Section 3 of POCSO Act when a person forced in sexual activity which degrades the dignity of the girl child then that person would be liable for penetrative sexual assault but when a person is doing any sexual activity or sexual intercourse with a girl child who is below 18 years or his wife by that person, then that person would be liable for punishable to penetrative sexual assault under section 5 of POCSO Act.”

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