Unnatural Sex With Wife Not Classified as Rape: In a recent order, the Madhya Pradesh High Court noted that any sexual act by a husband with his wife will not constitute rape since marital rape is not legal in India.
The High Court bench presided over by Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia issued an order on May 1 to quash an FIR that a wife had filed against him, accusing him of engaging in multiple instances of unnatural sex with her.
According to the FIR, the woman claimed that after her marriage, when she returned to her matrimonial house for the second time in June 2019, her husband committed unnatural sex with her multiple times.
For a woman under 15 years of age residing with her husband during a valid marriage, sexual acts by her husband will not be considered rape by the court.
As an exception to this law, the bench noted that Section 376-B of IPC applies where the sexual act is conducted with his wife during the separation on account of judicial separation or otherwise.
Under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), rape is defined as all forms of sexual assault involving non-consensual contact with a woman.
According to Exception 2 to Section 375, sexual intercourse between a husband and wife over 15 years of age is not considered “rape” and is therefore not prosecutable.
Also Read: Kerala HC rejects Mavunkal plea to suspend life sentence in rape case
