In late February, a court in Delhi finished hearing a case on married Indian women’s right to sexual autonomy, and now, a decision on the matter is awaited.
The Indian Penal Code, enacted by the British colonial state in 1860, exempts forcible sexual intercourse by husbands upon wives from the definition of rape. This means a man cannot be charged with rape if the victim is his wife. Although rape provisions in the penal code have undergone several changes since then, the husband’s immunity has been retained.
In the current case, which began in 2015, two non-government organisations (the RIT Foundation and All India Democratic Women’s Association) challenged the constitutional validity of the marital rape exemption. According to the petitioners, the distinction that Indian rape law makes among women based on their marital status is unreasonable, and hence, in violation of the equality guaranteed by the constitution of India.
