Delhi HC to continue hearing marital rape plea, appoints Raju Ramchandran as Amicus

The Delhi High Court will continue to hear the petitions filed by various parties to get marital rape declared as an offence after Advocate Gaurav Agrawal informed the court today, that the issues before the Supreme Court and the High Court did not overlap with each other..The court also requested Senior Advocate Raju Ramchandran to assist the Court as the Amicus Curiae in the matter..During the last hearing, the Bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar had halted the proceedings after noting that a similar plea is also being heard by the Supreme Court. The Bench had stated that it would be improper for the Delhi High Court to hear a matter which is being considered by the Supreme Court..The Court had also requested Advocate Gaurav Agrawal, who has been arguing the case in the Supreme Court, to appear and clarify whether issues before the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court are same or different..Agrawal, today elaborated about the case in the Supreme Court and stated, that the issue before the Supreme Court is limited to the Constitutionality of Exception 2 of Section 375 of the IPC wherein it is mentioned that sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under 15 years of age, is not rape..He stated that according to Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, sexual act with a minor i.e. person below the age of 18, is considered as rape. Therefore, this dichotomy is under challenge before Supreme Court, he clarified..However, the petitions filed in the Delhi High Court have a much wider purview and seek to get marital rape declared as an offence. The practice of ‘forced sexual intercourse by a husband on his wife not being considered within the definition of rape’ is the subject matter of the petitions in the High Court..After being satisfied that the issues before the two courts do not overlap with each other, the Bench stated that there is no impediment in hearing the petitions before it..The matter will be next heard on September 20 when Advocate Karuna Nandy will make her submissions.