Criminalization of Marital Rape in India: Need of the Hour

Rape is one of the heinous crimes which can be committed against women in society. Marital rape is a disgraceful offence that still exists in India in the age of feminism and gender equality and has scarred the trust and confidence of women in the institution of marriage. Although many laws are made to ensure the safety of women, it has failed to criminalize the rape that happens within the four walls of the house. Many women have to face the brunt due to the non- criminalization of Marital Rape. Exception II to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code explicitly states that sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under the age of 15 years, is not rape. Non- Consensual sexual act with an unmarried girl amounts to rape, but when it is committed against a married woman, it no longer amounts to an offence. Legislators and courts have failed to give the justification for the same for the reasons only known to them. The paper discusses the need for criminalizing Marital Rape in India, and it should be a developed notion that non-consensual sexual acts will amount to rape whether committed against married or unmarried women. The paper also focuses on the legal and judicial framework of Marital Rape in India. Also, the researcher has discussed the final arguments which are being heard by the Delhi High Court presently on the issue of the validity of marital rape exception as carved out in Exception 2 to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code.