Breaking: MARITAL RAPE- Supreme Court Issues Notice On Pleas Challenging Delhi HC's Split Verdict, Agrees To Hear In Feb 2023

Supreme Court bench of Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice B. V. Nagarathna today issued notice on a batch of petitions filed assailing the split verdict of the Delhi High Court on the issue of Marital Rape.

Counsel appearing for All India Democratic Women's Association, Advocate Karuna Nundy submitted that "the substantial question of law in the opinion of the two judges…both the judges unanimously …is that it be decided by this court."

Senior Advocate Gopal Shankarnarayan also appeared before the bench. He handed a short note and submitted that "It's a 2018 matter…it's the exact same issue and is pending here …this matter is pending and we have 19 times tried to get it listed. We mentioned 19 times over three years to get it listed and we couldn't get it listed."

The Court agreed to hear the issue in the month of February next year and clubbed all the matters regarding the issue of Marital Rape pending in the Supreme Court together.

The Delhi High Court bench of Justice Rajiv Shakdher and Justice C. Hari Shankar had on 11th May pronounced a split verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the exception to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, which exempted forceful sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife from the offence of rape.

Justice Rajiv Shakdher has held that the exemption of the husband from the offence of marital rape is unconstitutional. Exception 2 of 375, 376B IPC was therefore struck down by him as violative of Article 14. However, Justice C Hari Shankar said that he does not agree with Justice Shakdher. Justice Harisankar has held that Exception 2 to Section 375 does not violate Constitution and that the exception is based on an intelligible differentia.