Marital Rape in India: Current Legal Framework and the Need for Criminalising It

In India, the concept of marriage is a sacred social institution in which sexual intercourse between a husband and wife is legal. But this sacred institution has also become a dangerous permit to rape. Rape is a heinous offence committed against women that violates her integrity and self- respect; and reduces them to a nothing but an object used for sexual gratification. Marital rape is the most common and repulsive type of masochism that exists in the Indian society which is hidden perfectly under the façade of a perfect marriage. Regardless of the legal meaning attributed to the term “marital rape”, it can be defined as any unwanted sexual intercourse or penetration that is brought about through the means of force, threat of force or when the wife is unable to consent. Yet, the law makers of the country are hesitant to remove the exemption under Section 375 because of the backlash they may face from the conservative section of the society while giving no regard to the cruelty inflicted upon women who suffer without recourse in law. Through this paper, the researcher aims to compare the laws relating to marital rape in the India with that of other countries and argue that the continuance of the marital rape exemption under Section 375 of IPC is a violation of fundamental rights and therefore, is unconstitutional and struck down as noted by the Verma Committee recommendations. The data for the research was collected from secondary sources in the form of books, governmental websites and academic journals.