Legal Acumen | Parliamentary panel’s draft proposal to make adultery a crime contradicts landmark Supreme Court judgment
1 year, 1 month ago

Legal Acumen | Parliamentary panel’s draft proposal to make adultery a crime contradicts landmark Supreme Court judgment

The Hindu  

Published : Oct 28, 2023 14:40 IST - 5 MINS READ In what appears to be a retrograde move, the draft report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, examining the three Bills which are set to replace the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act, has reportedly recommended the restoration of adultery as a crime, on gender-neutral lines. The then Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, held that Section 497 IPC treated women as subordinate to men inasmuch as it laid down that when there is connivance or consent of the man for the adulterous act of his wife, there is no offence. In Chief Justice Dipak Misra’s opinion, Section 497 created invidious distinctions based on gender stereotypes which created a dent in the individual dignity of women. Nariman, in his concurring opinion, held that what Section 497 sought to punish was not adultery per se, but the proprietary interest of a married man in his wife.

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History of this topic

Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Marital Rape Law: Examining Exception 2s to IPC and BNS
2 months ago

Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Marital Rape Law: Examining Exception 2s to IPC and BNS

The Hindu  

The Supreme Court will continue hearing on Wednesday a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Exception 2 to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) and Exception 2 of Section 63 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. These provisions grant legal immunity to Indian husbands by stipulating that “sexual intercourse or acts by a man …

SC to decide on marital rape law despite Centre’s silence
3 months ago

SC to decide on marital rape law despite Centre’s silence

Hindustan Times  

The Supreme Court on Wednesday made it clear that it will decide the legality of the immunity granted to husbands from prosecution for marital rape solely on legal principles, even if the Union government does not take a stand on the issue. The issue also includes the Delhi high court’s split verdict from May 2022, which remains pending for the …

SC to decide on marital rape law despite Centre’s silence
3 months ago

SC to decide on marital rape law despite Centre’s silence

Hindustan Times  

The Supreme Court on Wednesday made it clear that it will decide the legality of the immunity granted to husbands from prosecution for marital rape solely on legal principles, even if the Union government does not take a stand on the issue. The issue also includes the Delhi High Court’s split verdict from May 2022, which remains pending for the …

S. 377 IPC | Uttarakhand High Court Stays Revision Court Order Exonerating Man From Charge Of Having 'Unnatural Sex' With Wife
4 months, 4 weeks ago

S. 377 IPC | Uttarakhand High Court Stays Revision Court Order Exonerating Man From Charge Of Having 'Unnatural Sex' With Wife

Live Law  

The Uttarakhand High Court has stayed the order of a Revisional Court which had exonerated a husband from the charge of Section 377 IPC, which prohibits non-consensual unnatural sex. This comes a day after a coordinate bench of the High Court held that a husband cannot be prosecuted under Section 377 IPC as Section 375 IPC exempts marital sex and …

Husband Can't Be Held Guilty U/S 377 IPC For 'Unnatural Sex' With Wife: Uttarakhand High Court
5 months ago

Husband Can't Be Held Guilty U/S 377 IPC For 'Unnatural Sex' With Wife: Uttarakhand High Court

Live Law  

The Uttarakhand High Court has observed that if an act between the husband and wife is not punishable under Section 375 IPC due to operation of Exception 2 to it, a husband can't be held guilty under Section 377 IPC for 'unnatural sex' with the wife. Relying upon the Supreme Court's decision in the case of Navtej Singh Johar and …

‘Unnatural sex by a man with his wife is not rape, absence of consent irrelevant’: MP High Court
7 months, 2 weeks ago

‘Unnatural sex by a man with his wife is not rape, absence of consent irrelevant’: MP High Court

Op India  

The Madhya Pradesh High Court observed that despite ‘Marital rape’ not being recognized as an offence in India, any sexual intercourse, including unnatural sex by a husband with his wife, does not constitute rape, as the wife’s consent is deemed irrelevant in such instances. “…insertion of penis in the anus of a woman has also been included in the definition …

Mere Withdrawal From Marriage Won't Amount To Offence Of Cheating Under Section 417 IPC : Supreme Court
10 months ago

Mere Withdrawal From Marriage Won't Amount To Offence Of Cheating Under Section 417 IPC : Supreme Court

Live Law  

The Supreme Court held that mere non-performance of marriage by the accused at the booked marriage hall doesn't amount to committing an offence of cheating punishable under Section 417 IPC.“We do not see how an offence even under Section 417 of IPC is made out against the present appellant. The Supreme Court held that mere non-performance of marriage by the …

Old wine, new bottle? Re-criminalising adultery as a gender-neutral offence
1 year ago

Old wine, new bottle? Re-criminalising adultery as a gender-neutral offence

The Hindu  

Earlier last month, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, examining the three new criminal law Bills set to replace the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act, recommended the criminalisation of adultery but on gender-neutral lines. For the sake of protecting the institution of marriage, this section should be retained in the Sanhita by …

Not a crime if consenting married adults are in a live-in relationship: Delhi High Court
1 year, 3 months ago

Not a crime if consenting married adults are in a live-in relationship: Delhi High Court

The Hindu  

September 23, 2023 11:24 am | Updated 11:24 am IST - NEW DELHI : The Delhi High Court has recently held that a live-in relationship between two consenting adults, married to different partners, may be considered undesirable by a section of society but it is not a criminal offence. Similarly, immorality cannot be punished by law unless provided by a …

CJI says petitions to criminalise marital rape to be listed in mid-October
1 year, 3 months ago

CJI says petitions to criminalise marital rape to be listed in mid-October

The Hindu  

Chief Justice of India D.Y. “We will list it sometime in mid-October after the Constitution Bench hearings,” Chief Justice Chandrachud addressed senior advocate Indira Jaising and advocate Karuna Nundy, who jointly mentioned the case for urgent listing. “A man is a man; an act is an act; rape is a rape, be it performed by a man the ‘husband’ on …

Three-judge Bench to Hear Pleas Relating to Criminalisation of Marital Rape: SC
1 year, 5 months ago

Three-judge Bench to Hear Pleas Relating to Criminalisation of Marital Rape: SC

News 18  

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that a three-judge bench will hear a batch of petitions pertaining to criminalisation of marital rape after constitution benches conclude hearing some listed pleas. “We have to resolve the matters concerning marital rape,” a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra said when senior advocate Indira …

Three-judge bench to hear pleas relating to criminalisation of marital rape: SC
1 year, 5 months ago

Three-judge bench to hear pleas relating to criminalisation of marital rape: SC

Deccan Chronicle  

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that a three-judge bench will hear a batch of petitions pertaining to criminalisation of marital rape after constitution benches conclude hearing some listed pleas. "We have to resolve the matters concerning marital rape," a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra said when senior …

Supreme Court Quarterly Digest On Indian Penal Code 1960 [ Jan-Mar 2023]
1 year, 7 months ago

Supreme Court Quarterly Digest On Indian Penal Code 1960 [ Jan-Mar 2023]

Live Law  

Penal Code, 1860 - Constitutional Courts can impose fixed term sentence even in cases where death penalty was not proposed - "Even in a case where capital punishment is not imposed or is not proposed, the Constitutional Courts can always exercise the power of imposing a modified or fixed-term sentence by directing that a life sentence, as contemplated by “secondly” …

Supreme Court to hear pleas seeking to criminalise marital rape on May 9
1 year, 9 months ago

Supreme Court to hear pleas seeking to criminalise marital rape on May 9

Hindustan Times  

The Union government on Wednesday sought a week to clarify its stand on making marital rape a criminal offence even as the Supreme Court fixed May 9 as the date to commence extensive arguments on a clutch of petitions demanding a change in the legal regime. Senior counsel Siddharth Dave and advocate Jaikriti Jadeja will also appear in the matter …

SC seeks Centre's response on pleas seeking criminalisation of marital rape
1 year, 11 months ago

SC seeks Centre's response on pleas seeking criminalisation of marital rape

India Today  

The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from the Centre on a batch of petitions pertaining to criminalisation of marital rape. One of pleas has been filed in relation to the Delhi High Court's split verdict on the issue.This appeal has been filed by Khushboo Saifi, one of the petitioners before the Delhi High Court. While Justice Shakdher, who …

Supreme Court seeks Centre’s response - The Hindu
2 years, 3 months ago

Supreme Court seeks Centre’s response - The Hindu

The Hindu  

The Supreme Court on Friday, September 16, 2022, sought a response from the government on appeals to criminalise marital rape. During the brief hearing, All India Democratic Women's Association, represented by advocate Karuna Nundy, said both judges in the Bench in the Delhi High Court had agreed that the case raised a substantial question of law which required an authoritative …

Criminalisation of marital rape | Appeal filed in Supreme Court against Delhi High Court's split verdict
2 years, 7 months ago

Criminalisation of marital rape | Appeal filed in Supreme Court against Delhi High Court's split verdict

The Hindu  

A petition was filed in the Supreme Court appealing against the Delhi High Court’s split verdict in the marital rape case. The judges of the High Court has differed on the cardinal issue whether men can face the charge of rape for forcing themselves on their wives. While Justice Shakdher, who headed the High Court Bench, favoured striking down the …

The Delhi High Court’s split verdict on marital rape needs resolution
2 years, 7 months ago

The Delhi High Court’s split verdict on marital rape needs resolution

The Hindu  

A division Bench of the Delhi High Court recently delivered a split verdict on whether exception two to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, i.e., marital rape exception, is unconstitutional. Since there is no rational nexus between the differentia and the object of the law, marital rape exception fails the test of reasonable classification and must be struck down …

The importance of consent: The Hindu Editorial on marital rape
2 years, 7 months ago

The importance of consent: The Hindu Editorial on marital rape

The Hindu  

A split verdict in the Delhi High Court on the question of criminalising marital rape has reignited the controversy over legal protection for disregard of consent for sex within marriage. On Wednesday, while Justice Rajiv Shakdher, who headed the Bench, struck down as unconstitutional the exception to Section 375 of the IPC, which says that intercourse by a man with …

Marital Rape: Split Verdict in Delhi HC, Only One Judge Strikes Down Exception
2 years, 7 months ago

Marital Rape: Split Verdict in Delhi HC, Only One Judge Strikes Down Exception

The Quint  

"These are standalone offences, different in their nuance and ingredients. John had also addressed the point specifically raised by Justice Hari Shankar while upholding the marital rape exception, that the exception can be justified since there is an intelligible differentia between sexual relations within a marriage and outside it, which means there is no violation of Article 14. Justice Hari …

The marital rape exception fails all tests of Constitutional validity
2 years, 8 months ago

The marital rape exception fails all tests of Constitutional validity

Live Mint  

An unprecedented reformist judgement delivered recently by a single-judge bench of the Karnataka high court effaces the idea of husbands as rulers of their wife’s bodies, souls and minds. The ruling declares acts of sexual assault by a husband amenable to charges of rape under the Indian Penal Code, thereby revoking the legitimacy of marital rape. The bench said that …

Can Husband Be Prosecuted Under Section 377 IPC When Section 375 IPC Exempts Marital Sex? Delhi High Court To Consider
2 years, 9 months ago

Can Husband Be Prosecuted Under Section 377 IPC When Section 375 IPC Exempts Marital Sex? Delhi High Court To Consider

Live Law  

The Delhi High Court has delinked from a batch of pleas seeking criminalisation of marital rape, a plea seeking to declare that a husband cannot be prosecuted for the offence of unnatural sex with his wife under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, when exception 2 to Section 375 gives exception to marital sex from the offence of rape.A …

Intercourse in Marriage Can't Be Labelled Rape, Wife Cannot Seek Specific Punishment to Satisfy Ego: Delhi HC Told
2 years, 10 months ago

Intercourse in Marriage Can't Be Labelled Rape, Wife Cannot Seek Specific Punishment to Satisfy Ego: Delhi HC Told

News 18  

Sexual intercourse between husband and wife cannot be labelled rape and at worst such an act of wrongdoing can be called sexual abuse, and a wife cannot compel the prescription of a particular punishment against her husband to satisfy her ego, an intervenor said in the Delhi High Court on Tuesday. Counsel for the intervenor NGO, Hriday, told the court, …

Marital Rape - Removal Of Exception From Sec 375 IPC Will Uphold Woman's Bodily Integrity: Rebecca John To Delhi High Court
2 years, 11 months ago

Marital Rape - Removal Of Exception From Sec 375 IPC Will Uphold Woman's Bodily Integrity: Rebecca John To Delhi High Court

Live Law  

The Delhi High Court on Thursday continued hearing a batch of petitions challenging the exception to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, which exempts forceful sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife from the offence of rape.Senior Advocate Rebecca John appearing as amicus curiae in the matter told a bench of Justice Rajiv Shakdher and Justice C …

Marital rape: Sex worker has right to say no, why not married woman, asks Delhi HC
2 years, 11 months ago

Marital rape: Sex worker has right to say no, why not married woman, asks Delhi HC

Firstpost  

Senior advocate Raj Shekhar Rao, who is appointed as an amicus curiae to assist the court, argued that husband and wife are “two equals before the law” and there is no reason “why husband’s desire to have sex trump the wife’s desire not to” New Delhi: The Centre Thursday told the Delhi High Court that it was considering a “constructive …

Non-Criminalization Of Marital Rape Doesn't Compel Wife To Have Sexual Intercourse; Remedy Of Divorce Available: Delhi Govt Tells High Court
2 years, 11 months ago

Non-Criminalization Of Marital Rape Doesn't Compel Wife To Have Sexual Intercourse; Remedy Of Divorce Available: Delhi Govt Tells High Court

Live Law  

The Delhi Government on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that the exception to Section 375 of IPC pertaining to non-criminalization of marital rape does not leave a married woman remediless pursuant to forced sexual intercourse by her husband.Advocate Nandita Rao submitted that the exception does not compel a wife to have sexual intercourse with the husband and that the …

Marital Rape : Husband Having Sex With Wife Against Her Wishes Not Illegal
3 years, 4 months ago

Marital Rape : Husband Having Sex With Wife Against Her Wishes Not Illegal

Live Law  

On a wife's cruelty complaint alleging forcible intercourse, a sessions court at Mumbai has observed that the man's acts couldn't be considered illegal since he was her husband. The court added that it was "unfortunate" that the young girl had suffered paralysis but the husband and his entire family couldn't be held responsible for the same. Observing this, Additional Sessions …

Girlfriend Or Concubine Not Liable For Prosecution U/S 498A IPC: Andhra Pradesh High Court
3 years, 5 months ago

Girlfriend Or Concubine Not Liable For Prosecution U/S 498A IPC: Andhra Pradesh High Court

Live Law  

The Andhra Pradesh High Court earlier this week held that only a relative of a husband by blood or marriage is liable for prosecution under Section 498-A IPC.Justice Cheekati Manavendranath while quashing the FIR against the petitioner, observed that a girlfriend or concubine, not being connected by blood or marriage, is not a relative of the husband for the purpose …

After Section 377, can India change its law on marital rape?
4 years, 3 months ago

After Section 377, can India change its law on marital rape?

Live Mint  

2018 was a dramatic year for Indian constitutionalism. In Johar, constitutional morality led the Court to strike down the sodomy law; in Sabarimala, it held that religious sentiment could not trump women’s right to equality; in Shine, the Court held that constitutional morality would also govern marriage. We argue that by extending the doctrine of constitutional morality to the marital …

SC Admits Writ Petition Challenging the Vires of Section 497IPC: Advocate Argues on Gender Bias and Constitutional Validity
7 years ago

SC Admits Writ Petition Challenging the Vires of Section 497IPC: Advocate Argues on Gender Bias and Constitutional Validity

Live Law  

The Supreme Court has admitted and issued notice on a writ petition challenging the validity of section 497 of the IPC, which grants immunity to women from prosecution for adultery, even as an abettor. The petition argues that the section extends immunity to women even as an abettor, which is inconsistent with the principle of gender equality enshrined in the …

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