Rape After Marriage.

Rape, it is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without that person’s consent.

According to me rape is an act of sexual intercourse which is done with force without the consent of the victim. It is the most common crime against women in India. It is a criminal offence which comes under section 375 of Indian Penal Code (IPC). But now the definition of rape has been changed.

Before rape was an act of sexual intercourse or sexual harassment by a man with a woman against her will. But now rape is understood as a rapist may be an adult of either gender or a child. It is considered as a serious crime.

According to a study conducted in the United States in the 1990’s, for example, fewer than one – third of rapes in the country are reported to police, and about half of all rape victims do not discuss the incident with anyone. Even when brought to trial, those charged with rape have a higher- than- average rate of acquittal, mainly because it is difficult to prove a crime for which there are usually no third party witnesses. To protect women many jurisdictions have adopted rape shield laws (a rape shield law is a law that limits the ability to introduce evidence). This law has been passed in almost all states to protect the victims from the emotional trauma of being questioned about their sexual history on the witness stand.

SECTION 375 IN THE INDIAN PENAL CODE:

1[Rape – A man is said to commit “rape” who, except in the case hereinafter, has sexually intercourse with a women under circumstances falling under any of the six following descriptions :-

[First] – Against her will.
[Second] – Without her consent.
[Thirdly] – With her consent, when her consent has been obtained by putting her or any person in whom she is interested in fear of death or of hurt.

[Fourthly] –With her consent, With her consent, when the man knows that he is not her husband, and that her consent is given because she believes that he is another man to whom she is or believes herself to be lawfully married.

[Fifthly]– With her consent, when at the time of giving such, by reason of unsoundness of mind or intoxication or the administration by him personally or through another of any stupefying or unwholesome substance, she is unable to understand the nature and consequences of that to which she gives consent.

[Sixthly] — With or without her consent, when she is under sixteen years of age. Explanation.—Penetration is sufficient to constitute the sexual intercourse necessary to the offence of rape.

Rape is a criminal offence which is done by the person who are desperately in need of the sex.

References Cases-

1) ANJANA SHARMA RAPE CASE:
The Anjana Mishra rape case was a high profile rape case of 1999. She was the wife of an Indian Forest Services officer had filed a complaint with the CM of Orissa, J.B. Patnaik against the then advocate general of Orrisa, Indrajit Ray, who had attempted to rape her in 1997. Patnaik tried to shield Ray and later in 1999, Anjana was attacked on her way to Bhubaneshwar by three men and was gang raped in front of her journalist friend with whom she was travelling.

JUDGEMENT:
The court held that Indrajit Ray received 3 years imprisonment for attempted rape while two of the three accused were sentenced to life imprisonment after a CBI enquiry. The third accused is still absconding.

2) Priyadarshini Mattoo Rape and Murder Case:
Another landmark case is the Priyadarshini Mattoo rape and murder case of 1996. She was a 25 year old law student who was raped and murdered by Santosh Kumar Singh at her house in New Delhi.

JUDGEMENT:

The Delhi High Court made a landmark judgement and sentenced him to jail.
MARITAL RAPE:
According to me marital rape is an act of sexual intercourse or sexual harassment done by the husband to her wife without her consent or forcefully .It is considered as a domestic violence or it comes in the category of domestic violence. Sexual intercourse in marriage without theconsent is considered as illegal. Marital Rape can also be called sexual abuse.

Marital Rape is a serious and frequently occurring form of domestic violence. Let’s talk about,
Section 376B of Indian Penal Code (IPC) which states that:
SEXUAL INTERCOURSE BY HUSBAND UPON HIS WIFE DURING SEPARATION –
Whoeverhas sexual intercourse with his own wife, who is living separately, whether under a decree of separation or otherwise, without her consent, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description, for a term which shall not be less than two years but which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Section 498A of Indian Penal Code (IPC) states that:
Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty. Whoever being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects her to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to a fine.

An offence undersection 498A is non-bailable, where bail is not a matter of right but dependent on the discretion of the court. It is non-compoundable so that the victim is not pressured into compromise.

Section 498is an Indian law which was made only to stop cruelty to women.
Section 354 of Indian Penal Code states that:
A person may be held liable guilty of outraging the modesty of any woman including the one who is his wife. If the husband expresses his affection towards his wife in public inan unkind manner such conduct will amount to an indecent behavior, be against public morality and amount to an outrage under section 354.

According to survey:
Gujarat High Court has recently observed that the total statutory abolition of the marital rape exemption is the first necessary step in teaching societies that dehumanized treatment of women will not be tolerated and that the marital rape is not a husband’s privilege, but rather a violent act and an injustice that must be criminalized.

Justice Pardiwala observed:
A law that does not give married and unmarried women equal protection creates conditions that leadto the marital rape . It allows the men and women to believe that wife rape is acceptable.

Making wife rape illegal or an offence will remove the destructive attitudes that promote the marital rape.such an action raises a moral boundary that informs the society that a punishment results if the boundary is transgressed. The total statutory abolition of the marital rape exemption is the first necessary step in teaching societies that dehumanized treatment of womenwill noit be tolerated and that the marital rape is not a husband’s privilege, but rather a violent act and an unjustice that must be criminalized.

COUNTRIES WHERE MARITAL RAPE IS A CRIME:
Albania, Andorra, Angola, Antigua, and Barbuda, Belgium, Bhutan, Germany, Hungary, Pakistan, Spain, South Africa, Sri Lanka,Verde, Germany, Greece, Canada, Belgium, Colombia, Finland, Cuba etc.

COUNTRIES WHERE MARITAL RAPE IS NOT A CRIME:
Afghanistan, Bahamas, India, Tanzania, Zambia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and etc

Marital Rape is a huge problem in India. According to a 2018 National Family Health Survey, more than 80 percent of married women who have experienced sexual violence named their current spouse as the perpetrator.

In a 2014 survey of more than, 9200 men across seven Indian states, one -third admitted to having forced a sexual act on their wives

.Home Affairs minister Haribhai Chaudhary had said that marital rape can’t be made a criminal offence in India because of high illiteracy rate, poverty, extreme religious beliefs and the very sanctity of marriage . But a High Court judge said in a ruling this week that it should be.

According to my View Marital Rape should be considered as an criminal offence amongst the country. It should be a non bailable offence. Because security of the women is the supreme law and nobody is allowed to her without her consent. She cannot be forcefully indulged in sort of any sexual activity.