In a recent ruling , the Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled on the issue of unnatural sex within marriage. The court stated that if a husband engages in unnatural sex with his wife without her consent, it doesn’t count as rape under Indian law.
The court clarified that ‘unnatural sex’ refers to activities like anal or oral sex. This ruling came after a wife accused her husband of engaging in such acts without her agreement but the court dismissed her complaint, emphasizing that consent becomes immaterial in such cases.
Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia clarified that even non-consensual anal sex by a husband with his wife above the age of 15 does not amount to rape, citing the amended definition of ‘rape’ under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code. The court emphasized that when rape includes the insertion of the penis in the anus of a woman and if that act is committed with a wife not below the age of 15 years, then the consent of the wife becomes immaterial.
The court explained its decision by saying that Indian law doesn’t recognize marital rape, meaning that even if a wife doesn’t agree to certain sexual acts, it’s not considered rape if it’s done by her husband. However, there’s one exception: if the couple is separated by a court order(Judicial seperation) then such acts could be considered rape under Section 376B of the IPC.
This case started in 2019 when a wife filed a complaint against her husband, alleging that he engaged in unnatural sexual acts with her after they got married. The husband argued tha such such acts do not constitute an offense under Section 377 of the IPC, which deals with unnatural sexual offences.
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