Govt to deliberate on criminalising marital rape

Maneka Gandhi said Ministry of Home has requested the Law Commission to deliberate upon the subject of marital rape during the course of its comprehensive review of Criminal Justice System

The Home Ministry has asked the Law Commission to deliberate on the issue of criminalising marital rape, the Rajya Sabha was informed Thursday.

"The Ministry of Home has requested the Law Commission to deliberate upon the subject of marital rape during the course of its comprehensive review of Criminal Justice System," Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said in a written reply.

The minister said the Pam Rajput Committee had made certain recommendations for safety of women which also included criminalisation of marital rape.

The recommendations of the Committee had been sent to the concerned ministries/departments for taking action, she said.

"Ministry of Home Affairs has informed that the Law Commission of India, while making its 172nd Report on 'Review of Rape Laws' in March 2000, did not recommend criminalisation of marital rape," she said.

"However, the Justice JS Verma Committee, while giving its report on 'Amendments to Criminal Laws' in January 2013, recommended that the law ought to be amended to delete the marital rape exception," she said.

"The Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs presented its 167th Report on their Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012 in the Rajya Sabha on March 1, 2013. While giving its report the Committee, inter alia, considered both the 172nd Report on Review of Rape Laws given by the Law Commission of India and the Report of Justice JS Verma Committee," Gandhi said.

The Committee deliberated on the amendments to section 375 of IPC including the issue of marital rape and observed that if it is brought under the law, the entire family system will be under great stress and the Committee may perhaps be doing injustice.