Raipur( Chhattisgarh) : The Chhattisgarh high court has held that “sexual intercourse by husband is not rape, even if by force’. The high court on Thursday discharged a man from facing trial for allegedly raping his wife, given that Indian law does not recognise marital rape if the wife is above 15 years of age.
The high court was hearing a criminal revision plea by the husband against the framing of charges based on the complaint by his wife. While charges under Section 376 (punishment for rape) were deemed to be “erroneous and illegal”, the court upheld the charges under Section 377 (unnatural offences) and Section 498A (relating to cruelty to women) against the husband.
Justice N K Chandravanshi relied upon an exception under Section 375 of the IPC, which states that “sexual intercourse or sexual act by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape.” The judge, hence, noted, “in this case, complainant is legally wedded wife of applicant No. 1, therefore, sexual intercourse or any sexual act with her by the applicant No. 1/husband would not constitute an offence of rape, even if it was by force or against her wish.”
