In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court on Wednesday criminalised sexual intercourse between a man and his minor wife.
In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court on Wednesday criminalised sexual intercourse between a man and his minor wife.
Here are 10 facts that will explain what does the verdict means:
1: The top court today said that if a man has sex with his wife aged between 15 and 18 years, he can be prosecuted for rape, in case the wife complains about the incident within a year.
2: The ruling cuts through the Article 375 of the Indian Penal Code that defines rape. According to it, “sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape”.
3: But the top court held the view that the exception in the rape law was arbitrary and was violative of the Constitution.
4: The apex court said the exception in the rape law was contrary to the philosophy of other statutes and violates the bodily integrity of a girl child.
5: The ruling paves way for much simpler concept about consent and rules out any ambiguity between Indian Penal Code, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.
6: It is because the IPC Article was contradictory to the child marriage act that puts 18 as the age of marriage for girls and 21 for men.
7: The IPC exception was also against POCSO as the child protection law says sex with a child below 18 years is an “aggravated penetrative sexual assault”.
8: Curiously though, the Supreme Court didn't say anything on the issue of marital rape. The bench clarified that it has not dealt with the issue of marital rape as it was not raised before it by respective parties. "We do not want to go into the aspect of marital rape. That is for Parliament to see if they want to increase or decrease the age of consent," the bench said.
9: The judgment came after an NGO Independent Thought filed a petition against the exception in Article 375.
10: The petitioners had sought a direction to declare exception 2 to Section 375 of IPC as "violative of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution to the extent that it permits intrusive sexual intercourse with a girl child aged between 15 and 18 years, only on the ground that she has been married."
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