‘Unnatural’, non-consensual sex by husband not a crime: Chhattisgarh High Court
The court acquitted a man whose wife had died allegedly because of the sexual act.
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The Chhattisgarh High Court on Monday held that a husband cannot be convicted on charges of rape or unnatural sex as “consent is not required” between a husband and wife because of the legal immunity accorded to marital rape.
If the wife is above the age of 15, any sexual intercourse or sexual act by the husband with her “cannot be termed as rape under the circumstances, as such absence of consent of wife for unnatural act loses its importance”, the court said.
Therefore, the offence under Indian Penal Code sections 376 (punishment for rape) and 377 is not made out, the court said while acquitting the man of all charges.
Exception 2 to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, which defines the offence of rape, states that forcible sexual intercourse by a man with his wife is not rape unless the wife is below the age of 15. The provision now comes under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which replaced the Indian Penal Code in July.
The judgement by a bench of Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas came on an appeal by a 40-year-old man from Bastar who had challenged his conviction in a case involving the death of his wife, allegedly caused by forced, unnatural sex in 2017.
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