New Delhi, Jan 31 (Agency) A lawyer for the petitioners on Monday told the Delhi High Court that a woman cannot be treated as a commodity, having no rights to say no, while putting her arguments on petitions seeking criminalisation of marital rape. A Bench comprising Justices Rajiv Shakdher and C Hari Shankar were hearing a batch of petitions, challenging the exception to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and seeking a direction that marital rape be declared as an offence and a crime. “We will address the issue of punishment, as it does not serve either the victim or the perpetrator. The Exception is entirely independent of that concern,” lawyer Karuna Nundy, in her rebuttal submissions for the petitioners, told the High Court. “It is quite clear that a rapist does not remain a rapist and marriage does convert him to a non-rapist,” she added. Nundy said that her arguments were divided into three sections. “First, our constitution is transformative and requires us to travel to the destination of constitutional morality. Second is what is the test that is to be applied to the SC judgement in independent though.
Third thing is that we will address the marital rape argument and the fact that is pre-independence, has no application of mind. “Our constitution is in our hands, women have gained universal suffrage, right to work, right to worship and right against divorce by utterance of three words. The arguments in the matter, which were inconclusive today, will continue before the same bench tomorrow at around 1500 hrs. Amicus Curiae (Friend of the Court) Rebecca M John, who is assisting the court in the matter, had earlier told the Delhi High Court that there was a fair expectation of sexual relationship in a marriage. “Expectation cannot be penalised. The spouse has a right to resort to civil remedies.
But if the expectation becomes a physical act based on coercion and force, then that sexual act must become an offence,” John had argued before the Delhi High Court. The Centre had recently filed a fresh affidavit in the Delhi High Court, in response to a clutch of petitions to criminalise marital rape, and maintained that it was examining the issue of broad changes in criminal law of the country and that the petitioner could also give their suggestions to the competent authorities.