New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday has issued notice to the Centre and others over several pleas that challenged a split verdict of the Delhi High Court over criminalisation of marital rape.
The apex court agreed to merge all the pending petitions regarding marital rape. It has further listed the matter in the month of February for further hearing.
In May this year, the Delhi High Court had passed a split verdict on the matter. While justice Rajiv Shakdher said the “marital rape exception” clause in Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) should be removed, Justice C Harishanker dissented to it.
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The clause protects husbands from being prosecuted for non-consensual sexual intercourse with their wives. It implies if a husband indulges into sexual intercourse or sexual acts, it will not be considered as rape.
Several NGOs such as RIT Foundation and All India Democratic Women’s Association had submitted multiple petitions demanding to declare “marital exception rape” unconstitutional.
