In a landmark judgement, Supreme Court has ruled that sex with wife who’s less than 18 years old is rape and would be considered a crime. In the ruling, the Court also said that exempting married women aged between 15 and 18 from this rule is unconstitutional.
“If a man has sexual intercourse with a wife who is below 18 years, it is an offence. The minor wife can complain against the husband within one year,” said the court.
Earlier, Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which defines the offence of rape, had an exception clause that says the intercourse or sexual act by a man with his wife, not below 15 years, was not rape. The court, however, today ruled that the exception is illegal.
“Exception 2 in Section 375 of IPC (Indian Penal Code) granting protection to husband is violative of constitution and fundamental rights of minor bride’, said the Court.
The top Court rejected Centre’s plea justifying the provision on the grounds that child marriage was a reality in the country and such marriage has to be protected. The bench was hearing a plea questioning the constitutionality of a provision permitting a man to have a physical relationship with his wife even if she was aged between 15 and 18. The petition filed by Independent Thought, a human right organisation, had argued that there was a conflict in the law for sex with underage girls and with girls who are married. “Parliament cannot impinge upon Article 21 by allowing the girl to marry under 18 years of age and allowing her to get pregnant or have intercourse. The Parliament should have considered various reports of the United Nations,” The NGO’s counsel had said.
