Marital Rape Is A Valid Ground For Divorce

Factual Background

• The husband had a business and due to his wayward lifestyle, there was substantial loss and the wife’s father had given around Rs. 77 lakhs.
• The husband had filed for restitution of conjugal rights and thus, the case has reached the High Court following due process of law.
• The father of the husband has filed for police protection beforehand and the wife had claimed for divorce on grounds of mental and physical cruelty and sexual perversion of the husband.

Court’s Observation

• The divorce laws in India need to have a balance between individual choice and their best interest.
• The objective to help make their own decisions should be prioritized.
• Marriage and divorce laws should have a common code; it is time that the marriage laws in our country are changed.
• A marriage is between equals and the husband has no superiority in respect to the bodily or individual status of the wife.
• Sexual acts against the will of the wife would amount to nothing but marital rape.
• Bodily integrity is included in the right to respect for one's physical and mental integrity.
• Any disrespect or violation of bodily integrity is a violation of one's autonomy.

Court’s Orders

• Even though marital rape is not considered as an offence in India, the Kerala High Court clarified that it is a reasonable ground to claim divorce.
• The conduct cannot be penalised as rape but it would amount to physical and mental cruelty.
• In matrimony, a spouse’s privacy is a vital right that he or she has as an individual.
• Marital privacy is inextricably linked to individual autonomy, and any physical or other intrusion into such space would jeopardise privacy.
• Cruelty would also include an insatiable desire for fortune and spouse’s sex and so would be unsubstantiated accusations of infidelity.

What is your opinion on marital rape? Should it be penalised? Tell us in the comments section below!