The central government has opposed the criminalisation of marital rape in its recent affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court, saying that terming it as “rape” is “excessively harsh, disproportionate” and will “destroy” the institution of marriage.
The 49-page affidavit filed by the Ministry of Home Affairs comes amid the ongoing hearing in the Supreme Court on pleas challenging the marital rape exception in the penal code or Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in laws related to sexual assault against women. At present, non-consensual acts against a wife have penal consequences under the Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
In its affidavit, the centre outlined several reasons for opposing the criminalisation of marital rape, citing concerns over potential misuse of the law and emphasising parliament’s discretion in the matter. Here’s how the newspapers covered the court proceedings.
The Times of India
“Govt: Keep marital rape out of IPC to protect institution of marriage,” read the lede report on the front page of the Times of India. It said: “Opposing criminalisation of marital rape, the Centre on Thursday told Supreme Court that a husband and wife share a unique multifaceted relationship which is not exclusively centred on sex and stressed if Parliament has thoughtfully carved out an exception for marital rape in the penal provisions (in Sec 375 of IPC), it should not be struck down by the court.”
It further added that the centre has “clarified it is committed to ‘fully and meaningfully’ protecting the dignity, liberty and rights of every women and quoted the centre’s affidavit: “The central govt asserts that a woman's consent is not obliterated by marriage, and its violation should result in penal consequences. However, the consequences of such violations within marriage differ from those outside.”
The Indian Express
The court proceeding was covered in a single column article on page one of the Indian Express.
The report was titled, “Govt flags wife’s consent, but says too harsh to make marital rape criminal” and said that the government has spelled out its stand on marital rape “for the first time”.
The report said: “This is the first time that the government has on record opposed the striking down the marital rape exception. In 2022, before the Delhi High Court, the union government had said that the ‘issue needs wider consultations’ and that a review of existing criminal laws was pending at that time.”
Hindustan Times
“In SC, Centre defends marital rape exception,” read the headline of the front page lead report on Hindustan Times. The report detailed the government’s affidavit in court under broader subheads of “concerns of misuse of law”, respecting Parliament’s choice”, “Conjugal relationships vs stranger assaults”, “Right to privacy, dignity and marital bond”, and “a call for judicial restraint”.
The report said, “The government asserted that while consent is foundational, breaches of this consent in marriage should be dealt with through less severe penalties than the ‘ghastly’ provisions applied to cases involving strangers.”
The New Indian Express
The second lede report on page one of the New Indian Express’s Chennai edition was titled “Don’t criminalise marital rape: Govt”.
It quoted the centre’s arguments in its affidavit that criminalising marital rape would have significant implications for society” and that the “present question is essentially a social issue on which Parliament has taken a position after weighing all shades of opinions”. In 2013, the parliament had decided to retain Exception 2 to Section 375 of IPC, which exempts marital rape from criminal punishment.
The Hindu
The marital rape court proceedings did not make it to the newspaper’s front page. However, it carried a detailed report on page 6 titled “Marital ties must be exempt from rape provisions”. The report said, “The Union government on Thursday told the Supreme Court that punishing non-consensual sexual acts by a man with his wife as rape will impact conjugal relationship and lead to “serious disturbances” in the institution of marriage.”
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