The NGO Justice for Rights Foundation has filed a plea in the Supreme Court to intervene in the ongoing debate over the criminalization of marital rape. The organization expresses apprehension over the potential misuse of such a law, drawing parallels with other legal provisions that have been reportedly exploited in the past.
The application, presented by Advocate Satyam Singh and represented by Senior Advocate Sonia Mathur along with advocates Rajeev Ranjan, Rishikesh Kumar, and Navneet, argues that existing laws already provide sufficient protection against marital abuse. “The misuse of existing legal provisions for women, particularly Section 498A of the IPC, has been widely acknowledged by the judiciary,” the plea states, cautioning that criminalizing marital rape could “introduce another powerful tool to the already misused legal framework, increasing the risk of malicious prosecution.”
The NGO further contends that false rape accusations carry a significant social stigma that could irreparably harm the reputations and lives of accused husbands. They also assert that the marital rape exemption acknowledges a distinct difference between married and non-married relationships, suggesting that criminalizing such acts could intrude upon the privacy and intimacy essential to marriage.
Additionally, the plea highlights the potential disruptions to mediation and reconciliation processes within marriages that the criminalization of marital rape could cause. The NGO proposes that if the Supreme Court decides to remove the exemption, it should introduce procedural safeguards to protect the rights of the accused, such as preserving their anonymity, ensuring proper arrest procedures, and promoting mediation.
The Justice for Rights Foundation emphasizes that its intervention aims to assist the Supreme Court in comprehensively assessing the complex societal implications of criminalizing marital rape. They urge careful consideration of the existing legal framework that provides both civil and criminal remedies for all forms of abuse, including sexual abuse within marriage.
