New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday (October 16) said that it would commence hearing the pleas seeking criminalising of marital rape and challenging the constitutionality of the exception to marital rape.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said on Wednesday said it will commence the hearing on the pleas on Thursday.
Senior Advocate Karuna Nandy, who appeared for some of the litigants, mentioned the pleas before the CJI-headed bench at the end of day’s proceedings after the matter could not be taken up during the day.
“Marital rape matter will be first on board, we will start tomorrow,” CJI Chandrachud said.
Apex court is seized of bunch of pleas on the issue
The apex court is seized of a bunch of pleas on the issue of criminalising marital rape and challenging the constitutionality of the exception to marital rape. The pleas also say that the idea of sexual consent of a woman in marriage had to be recognised as there have been many instances where a women in a marriage is forced to have sex with the husband.
Centre has opposed pleas seeking criminalisation of marital rape
The top court had earlier sought the response of the centre on pleas challenging the provisions providing protection to a husband against prosecution for forcible sexual intercourse if the wife is an adult.
The Centre, in its response to the pleas, opposed the pleas seeking criminalisation of marital rape, submitting that if the marital rape is criminalised, it may seriously impact the conjugal relationship and lead to serious disturbances in the institution of marriage. It further said that the issue involved in the pleas before the court is more of a social issue rather than a legal issue and the issue cannot be decided without proper consultation with all the stakeholders or taking the views of all the states into consideration.
It would not be appropriate for this Hon’ble Court to strike down the Exception: Centre
“Given the nature of the marital institution in our socio-legal milieu, if the legislature is of the view that, for preservation of the marital institution, the impugned Exception should be retained, it is submitted that it would not be appropriate for this Hon’ble Court to strike down the Exception,” the Centre said in a filing before the top court.
