Sex with minor wife above 15 could be prosecuted for rape, SC rules

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Oct 11 2017,DH News: A man indulging in sex with minor wife above 15 years of age could now be prosecuted for rape, the Supreme Court held on Wednesday.

In a major ruling affecting millions of child marriages, the top court reads down provisions of the Indian Penal Code which made exception to the offence of rape. Until now, a man cohabiting with his wife above 15 years of age, was covered under rape exception.

A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said the penal provisions on rape violated fundamental rights of equality and right to life and liberty guaranteed under the Constitution. Section 375 (rape) of the IPC had an exception two which said that man’s sexual relations with minor wife above 15 years and below 18 years of age would not constitute an offence.

Passing its judgement on a PIL by NGO ’Independent Thought’, the court said the rape law was not in conformity with the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act and other laws prohibiting child marriages.

Age of consent has been raised from 16 to 18 years under the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013. This meant that sexual relations of a man with a minor girl would be an offence of rape. But the exception to rape law protected sexual relations with minor wife above 15 years of age.