A recent ruling by the Chhattisgarh High Court has reignited debate over India’s lack of marital rape laws after it acquitted a man convicted of raping his wife, stating that forced sexual acts within marriage do not constitute rape under Indian law. The ruling comes despite the fact that the woman died from injuries reportedly caused by the assault.
The case dates back to 2017 when a 40-year-old man was arrested and later convicted by a lower court in Bastar district for rape, engaging in “unnatural sex,” and culpable homicide not amounting to murder. His wife, who had been admitted to a hospital complaining of severe pain, gave a dying declaration to a magistrate, stating that her husband had engaged in forceful sexual intercourse with her. Medical reports later confirmed peritonitis and rectal perforation as the cause of her death.
Despite this, the high court overturned the conviction, citing Indian law, which does not criminalize marital rape. Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas ruled that, under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), any sexual act by a man with his wife—provided she is above the age of 15—cannot be classified as rape, regardless of consent.
“If the age of wife is not below 15 years, then any sexual intercourse or sexual act by the husband with his wife cannot be termed as rape… as such absence of consent of wife for unnatural act loses its importance,” the judge stated.
The ruling has drawn widespread criticism, particularly because marital rape remains legal in India, a country where non-consensual sex within marriage is not recognized as a crime. While more than 100 countries have outlawed marital rape, India has resisted making such changes.
Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government formally opposed efforts to criminalize marital rape, arguing that doing so could “impact conjugal relationships” and disturb the “institution of marriage.” In a statement to the Supreme Court, the Home Ministry acknowledged that a husband does not have the right to violate his wife’s consent but insisted that labeling such acts as “rape” would be “excessively harsh.”
India’s new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which replaced the IPC in 2023, maintains the legal exemption for marital rape, raising the age threshold for exemption from 15 to 18. This means that, under current Indian law, forced sexual intercourse with a wife over the age of 18 is still not considered rape.
The high court’s ruling has sparked outrage among women’s rights activists and legal experts, who argue that it sets a dangerous precedent and undermines efforts to protect survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. With growing calls for reform, the case has intensified pressure on the Indian government to reconsider its stance on marital rape and align the country’s laws with global human rights standards.
