Criminalising marital rape will destabilise marriage: govt

Agencies
August 29, 2017

New Delhi, Aug 29: Marital rape cannot be made a criminal offence as it could become a phenomenon which may destabilise the institution of marriage and an easy tool for harassing the husbands, government today submitted before the Delhi High Court.

The Centre, in an affidavit filed in response to pleas seeking criminalising marital rape, said the Supreme Court and various High Courts have already observed the growing misuse of section 498A (harassment caused to a married woman by her husband and in-laws) of IPC.

The reply, filed before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar, also sought to implead state governments in the matter to know their opinion to avoid any complication at a later stage.

"It has to be ensured adequately that marital rape does not become a phenomenon which may destabilise the institution of marriage apart from being an easy tool for harassing the husbands," the affidavit, filed through central government standing counsel Monika Arora, said.

The government was responding to various petitions seeking declaration of Section 375 (offence of rape) of the IPC as unconstitutional on the ground that it discriminated against married women being sexually assaulted by their husbands.

During the day's hearing, senior advocate advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for one of the petitioners, argued that marriage cannot be viewed as giving a husband the right to coerced intercourse on demand.

He said a marriage licence cannot be viewed as licence for a husband to forcibly rape his wife with impunity and a married woman has the same right of full control over her body as an unmarried woman. He also referred to various judgments of foreign countries.
The hearing in the matter would continue tomorrow.

Marital rape (or spousal rape) is an act in which one of the spouses indulges in sexual intercourse without the consent of the other.

The Centre said in the affidavit that marital rape has not been defined in a statute or law, while the offence of rape is defined under section 375 IPC. Hence, defining marital rape would call for a broad based consensus of the society.

"What may appear to be marital rape to an individual wife, it may not appear so to others. As to what constitutes marital rape and what would constitute marital non-rape needs to be defined precisely before a view on its criminalisation is taken," it said.

It said merely deleting the exception which provides protection to husbands from prosecution for the offence of rape, may not stop marital rape. "Moral and social awareness" plays a vital role in stopping such an act, it added.

"If all sexual acts by a man with his own wife will qualify to be marital rape, then the judgment as to whether it is a marital rape or not will singularly rest with the wife.

"The question is what evidences the courts will rely upon in such circumstances, as there can be no lasting evidence in case of sexual acts between a man and his own wife," the affidavit read.

It also referred to the reports of Law Commission and Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, saying they have examined the matter and did not recommend criminalisation of marital rape.

Citing the Justice J S Verma Committee Report on "Amendments to Criminal Law", it said it was recommended that the exception to marital rape be removed, but it also pointed out that it is also important that legal prohibition on marital rape is accompanied by changes in the attitude of the prosecutors, police officers and those in society generally.

Regarding the petitioners' submission that other countries, mostly western, have criminalised marital rape, the Centre said it does not necessarily mean India should also follow them blindly.

"This country has its own unique problems due to various factors like literacy, lack of financial empowerment of the majority of females, mindset of the society, vast diversity, poverty, etc. and these should be considered carefully before criminalising marital rape," it said.

The affidavit said that criminal law is in the Concurrent List and implemented by the states and there is a vast diversity in the cultures of these states.

The high court had earlier asked the Centre to spell out its stand on petitions seeking to make marital rape a criminal offence.

It has agreed to examine the issue raised in PILs by NGOs RIT Foundation, All India Democratic Women's Association, represented through advocate Karuna Nandy, and a man and a woman, who have sought striking down of the exception in the Indian penal law that did not consider sexual intercourse with a minor wife, above 15 years of age, as rape.

The court has also agreed to hear a plea by NGO Men Welfare Trust, representing men victimised by alleged misuse of gender laws, opposing the petitions to make marital rape a criminal offence.

Earlier, the Centre had defended its legislation, saying child marriages were taking place in India and the decision to retain a girl's minimum age as 15 years to marry was taken under the amended rape law to protect a couple against criminalisation of their sexual activity.

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News Network
October 29,2024

Bengaluru: Following allegations by a section of farmers from Vijayapura district that their lands were marked as Waqf properties, Karnataka Chief Minister Sidddaramaiah on Tuesday said none of them will be evicted, and notices issued to them will be withdrawn.

"No farmer will be evicted from their land. Yesterday Revenue Minister (Krishna Byre Gowda), M B Patil (Industries and Vijayapura district in-charge Minister) and Waqf Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan have jointly said that no farmer from Vijayapura will be evicted from their land," Siddaramaiah said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said in case notices have been issued to farmers, they will be withdrawn.

Responding to a question that similar notices have been issued to farmers in Yadgir and Dharwad districts too, the CM said: "I will ask the Revenue Minister to look into it, nowhere farmers will be evicted."

Seeking to clarify "confusion" over 1,200 acres in Honavada of Tikota taluk being marked as Waqf property, M B Patil had recently said it was due to an “error” in the gazette notification.

He also had said only 11 acres out of the 1,200 acres are Waqf properties, and a task force headed by the Deputy Commissioner will be formed to resolve the issues.

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News Network
November 3,2024

Mangaluru, Nov 3: A quiet morning turned perilous for a farmer in Elathur, near Kinnigoli on the outskirts of the city, as a leopard attacked him while he was cutting grass. 

Ligori, a resident of Kalkare, was startled by the sudden assault and suffered injuries to his face but managed to escape and reach safety. He was promptly taken to the hospital for medical care.

Residents in Elathur have been on edge for over a week following reports of leopard sightings in the area. Today’s incident has heightened concerns among the local farming community, who now fear for their safety.

With a significant population of farmers in the region, villagers are demanding immediate action from the forest department to capture the leopard and ensure their safety. 

The community awaits a response, hoping for swift intervention to prevent further attacks.

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News Network
November 5,2024

haris.jpg

Washington: The race between Democratic leader Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump for the White House has been truly unprecedented as it saw drama, tragedy, political comebacks, fierce rhetoric and a historically razor-tight contest.

As the fight reaches its crescendo with the big election day just a few hours away, many political observers billed the unpredictable race for the 47th President of the US as the most consequential one in decades while appearing to project a grim picture for the country’s future under a Trump presidency.

In her final days of campaign, Vice President Harris focused on a message of hope, unity, optimism and women rights whereas Trump remained fiercely combative in targeting his Democratic rival and even suggested that he may not accept the election outcome in case of a defeat.

Overall, it has been a roller-coaster ride for both 60-year-old Harris and 78-year-old Trump.

Trump received his party’s nomination in March and formally at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in July — in a historic comeback after remaining in political wilderness for months following several court cases.

In effect, he became the first former president to get the nomination for the top office on the planet after being convicted of a felony.

“Trump has made one of the biggest political comebacks since Richard Nixon’s in terms of the political struggles that he has had in the last four years,” Communication Strategist Anang Mittal said.

Just days ahead of the RNC, Trump was shot at during a rally in Pennsylvania. He suffered an upper ear injury. Minutes later, a bleeding Trump raised his fist in defiance, images that drew a lot of emotional support from his die-hard supporters.

For Harris too, it has been a dramatic ride after Biden ended his re-election campaign in July, nearly weeks after he came under severe scrutiny following his incoherent performance at a televised debate with Trump.

While dropping out from the race, Biden, 81, endorsed Harris to succeed him as the Democratic candidate.

Finally in August, the Democratic National Convention formally nominated Harris as the party’s candidate for the presidential election.

The presidential election will be a chance to “move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past”, she said in a powerful speech at the Convention.

If Harris wins, she will become the first woman, first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to become the US President.

In the overall campaign, Harris has been projecting the election as the one to protect the country’s fundamental freedoms, safeguard constitutional values and ensure women’s rights.

On his part, Trump has maintained his signature aggressive rhetoric and promising to rebuild the economy and rid the US from illegal immigrants.

However, there has been strong criticism of the Republican leader’s roadmap to repair the economy.

"Donald Trump is offering a vision of crony rentier capitalism that has enticed many captains of industry and finance,” said Joseph E Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate economist, in a column in Project Syndicate.

"In catering to their wishes for more tax cuts and less regulation, he would make most Americans’ lives poorer, harder, and shorter,” he said.

With election day just a few hours away, there is no clarity on who has a better chance of winning the race.

"The elections are very close. They (the outcome) may change on the basis of a few thousands votes here or there. I think the big issue will be voter turnout tomorrow. That will determine the outcome in certain swing states,” said Executive Director of the US chapter of Observer Research Foundation Dhruva Jaishankar.

Kapil Sharma, a non-resident senior fellow at Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programmes, also echoed similar views.

“This election is probably one of the closest elections that I can remember. I have been working in Washington for over 30 years and I don’t recall an election being this tight,” he said.

More than 78 million Americans have already cast their votes as of Sunday, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab that tracks early and mail-in voting across the US.

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