Criminalising marital rape: Supreme Court reserves verdict

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved the verdict on a plea seeking a clarification on if a man's physical relaion with his wife below 18 years of age amounts to rape or not. 

The matter was earlier adjourned to September 4.

Earlier, the hearing was to be carried out by the Delhi High Court, but they put it on hold after learning that the SC has taken up for hearing of a petition on similar matter.

The HC then asked the parties before it to find out if the issues raised before it in the petitions seeking to make marital rape an offence are similar to those being heard by the apex court.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar observed it would be 'highly improper' for it to continue hearing this matter if Supreme Court was examining the issue of marital rape as a whole.

The NGO, who had filed the plea is opposing this as they argue that while Supreme Court is hearing a plea questioning the validity of a provision under the IPC permitting a man to have physical relationship with his wife, even if she was aged between 15 and 18 years. 

The issue before HC is different as the PILs challenge the constitutionality of Section 375 (rape) of the IPC on the ground that it discriminates against married women being sexually assaulted by their husbands.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Supreme Court was told by the Centre that sexual intercourse with a minor wife could not be criminalised in view of prevalence of child marriages in the country and justified legal protection given to husband under the provision of rape which says 'sexual acts by a man with his own wife, not being under 15 years of age, is not rape'.