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HomeTOP STORIESMarital rape ‘no crime’ if the wife is 18 or above: Allahabad...

Marital rape ‘no crime’ if the wife is 18 or above: Allahabad HC

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In a recent judgment dated December 6, 2023, the Allahabad High Court acquitted a man, Sanjeev Gupta, of charges under section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), pertaining to an alleged “unnatural offence” against his wife. The court clarified that the protection against marital rape persists when the wife is 18 years of age or older, citing a 2017 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Independent Thought Vs Union of India.

Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra, while partially allowing Sanjeev Gupta’s revision petition, emphasized that the proposed Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita, intended to replace the IPC, lacks a provision similar to section 377. The court highlighted that, according to medical evidence, there was no support for the allegations of committing an unnatural offense. Consequently, the court acquitted the accused of the section 377 charge but upheld his conviction and sentence under sections 498A (harassment for dowry) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC.

The case originated from a 2013 FIR filed against Sanjeev Gupta by his wife under various sections of the IPC and the Dowry Prohibition Act. Despite convictions by the trial and appellate courts for charges under sections 323 and 498-A, the accused sought revision before the high court.

While affirming the guilt findings for charges under sections 323 and 498-A, the court maintained that marital rape is not currently criminalized in the country. It acknowledged that certain petitions were pending before the Supreme Court seeking the criminalization of marital rape. Until a decision is reached on those petitions, the court concluded that there is no criminal penalty for marital rape when the wife is 18 years of age or older.


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