The Union government on Monday defended, before the Delhi High Court, the Indian Penal Code provision that says sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, who is not under 15 years of age, is not rape.
A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhigra Sehgal was told by the government, through an affidavit, that "exception 2 (to Section 375 IPC) deals exclusively with private affairs of husband-wife based on traditional social structure and hence can't be said to be unconstitutional and in violation of Articles 14 to 21 of the Constitution".
Section 375, which defines "rape" also contains the exception provision which states that the rape law would not apply to assault or sexual intercourse by a husband on his wife who is above 15 years.
The government admitted before the court that "although the age of consent is 18 years and child marriage is discouraged, marriage below the permissible age is avoidable but not void in law on account of social realities. It is submitted that the social, economic and educational development in the country is still uneven and child marriages are read more..
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