The Chattisgarh High Court has recently given its verdict for a 10-year-old case wherein a dying wife accused her husband of forced sex.
Chattisgarh High Court’s Verdict
The Chhattisgarh high court on Monday observed that a husband can’t be charged with rape or unnatural sex for having sexual relations with a major wife with or without consent. Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas gave this judgment and stated that holding the permission of the wife in sexual intercourse/unnatural intercourse is insignificant.
What Does the Verdict Say?
A man who is a resident of Jagdalpur was arrested in December 2017 for rape charges from his wife and was convicted by the additional sessions court under sections 377, 376, and 304 IPC and was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous punishment. He then appealed to the high court and the Chhattisgarh High Court has given its verdict today regarding the case.
“Thus, it is quite vivid, that if the age of the wife is not below the age of 15 years then any sexual intercourse or sexual act by the husband with her wife cannot be termed as rape under the circumstances, as such absence of consent of wife for unnatural act loses its importance, therefore, this Court is of the considered opinion that the offense under Section 376 and 377 of the IPC against the appellant is not made out,” the bench said, according to the website.
What Is the Case?
A man from Jagdalpur was arrested on the night of 11 December on the charges of his wife claiming to have had unnatural sex against her will. This led her to be admitted to the hospital. The woman could not be saved and died, unfortunately. In her dying declaration, she said the man performed forceful sexual intercourse on her. Later, the doctors determined that the woman died of peritonitis and rectal perforation.
The man was first convicted for 10 years of imprisonment, and he then appealed to the high court and challenged the verdict of the sessions court. The high court gave the verdict in his favor, he was acquitted of all the charges.
Husband’s Arguments in the Court
During the appeal hearings, the man’s side argued that there was no legal evidence against the man to prove him guilty and was convicted solely based on the victim’s statement. Secondly, the sessions court has overlooked the statements of two witnesses who claimed that his wife had piles from her first childbirth itself, which caused bleeding and abdominal pain. The defense also questioned the reliability of a dying declaration. However, the state government defended the trial’s court judgment and sought the appeal’s dismissal.
Court References and The Law
The Court in its ruling stated, ” From a perusal of sections 375, 376 and 377 of IPC, it is quite evident that in the view of the amended definition of section 375 IPC, an offense under section 377 IPC between husband and wife has no place and, as such rape cannot be made out”
If a husband engages in sexual intercourse or unnatural sex with his wife, it cannot be considered as rape under section 377 AND 375 IPC. Citing all these sections, the Chhattisgarh High Court has given its verdict
With a passion for news writing and a deep interest in Journalism, Bowrna wants to write articles that create an impact. Not only writing, she also has a passion for voiceovers and also aspires to become a Radio Jockey in the future. When not writing, she likes to listen to songs and dance to her heart's content. She is proficient in English, Tamil and Hindi.
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