The bench agreed to examine the issue raised in PILs by NGOs RIT Foundation, All India Democratic Women's Association and a man and a woman.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought the response of the Centre on petitions seeking to make marital rape a criminal offence.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar asked the Centre to respond to the petitions which wanted Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) unconstitutional on the ground that it discriminated against married women being sexually assaulted.
"The whimsical part under marital rape exception under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code is the difference that is created between married and unmarried woman. The interpretation of this section brings out disparity that a woman raped by a man is an offence but if a married woman is raped by her husband, it is not an offence simply because of the fact that the perpetrator is her husband," the petition said.
The court fixed the matter on August 28 for hearing.
The bench agreed to examine the issue raised in PILs by NGOs RIT Foundation, All India Democratic Women's Association and a man and a woman.
"Hidden under the curtain or veil of marriage, marital rape is the most common and repugnant form of masochism in the society with complete disregard to married woman's rights over her own body," read the petition.
The petitioners have claimed that the exception was "unconstitutional and violative of the Right to Equality guaranteed to married women under Article 14 of the Constitution as it decriminalises rape when the perpetrator is the lawfully wedded husband of the victim."
Among the petitioners, one of the NGO claimed that marital rape has been criminalised in almost all major common law jurisdictions throughout the world, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Canada.
Criminal offence
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar agreed to examine the issue raised in PILs by NGOs RIT Foundation, All India Democratic Women’s Association and a man and a woman.
Among the petitioners, one of the NGO claimed that marital rape has been criminalised in almost all major common law jurisdictions throughout the world
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