India anger as judge frees man accused of raping wife who then died

Warning: This report contains some disturbing details

The Indian court ruling that the man forced “unnatural sex” with his wife, is not a crime, led to great indignation and caused updated calls for better protection for married women.

The contradictory order also returned the issue of marriage rape in the country, which stubbornly abandoned this criminal liability.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court Judge in the Central Indian state of Chhattisgarha released a 40-year-old man who was sentenced by the first instance court in 2019 to rape and unnatural sex with his wife, who died for hours after the alleged attack.

The lower court also found the person guilty of “the guilty murder who did not go out of murder.” He was sentenced to “strict imprisonment for 10 years” for each count, and all proposals will work at the same time.

But on Monday, the Justice of the Supreme Court Narendra Kumar Vyas justified a person from all charges, saying that since India did not recognize marriage rape, the husband could not be found guilty of incomplete sex or some non -profit unnatural sexual act.

The court decision was met with anger when activists, lawyers and companies restore their calls for criminal charges in India.

“Watching this man leaves is unacceptable. This decision may be correct, but he is ethically and morally disgusting,” said the lawyer and gender human rights activist Chauhan.

“A show that releases a person of such a crime to say that it is not a crime is the darkest hour in our legal system,” she said to the BBC.

“It shook us to the nucleus. It must change quickly and change.”

Shukla’s friend, Chhattisgar’s lawyer said that such a decision “sends a message that because you are a husband, you have right. And you can do whatever you can even go with the murder.”

She added that this was not the first time the court made such a decision, and there is always anger.

“This time the indignation is more because it is so horrible and the woman died.”

The court documents are created for gloomy reading.

According to the accusation, the incident happened on the night of December 11, 2017, when the husband who worked as a driver “committed unnatural sex with a victim against her will … causing her a lot of pain.”

After he went to work, she sought help from her sister and another relative who drove her to the hospital, where she died a few hours later.

In her statement, the woman said to the police and her dying declaration that she became ill with “a strong sexual intercourse”.

The Petroleal Declaration carries weight in court, and legal experts say that it is usually sufficient for condemnation unless it is contrary to other evidence.

Having condemned this man in 2019, the first instance court relied heavily on her dying declaration and posthumous report stating that “the cause of the death was peritonitis and perforation of the rectum” – the easiest way, serious injuries of her stomach and direct Guts.

The justice of the milestone, however, saw the questions on the same – he questioned the “holiness” of the dying statement, noted that some witnesses had given their statements and, most importantly, stated that marriage rape was not a crime in India.

The conviction of the lower court was “the rarest case,” said Ms Shukla, “probably because the woman died.”

“But what is shocking in the ruling of the Supreme Court is that the judge is not even one compassionate comment.”

Given the nature of the attack, the Supreme Court’s order became a shock to many, who believe that the judge should not have released the case so easily.

India is one of the more than 30 countries – together with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia – where marriage rape is not a criminal offense.

In recent years, a number of petitions have been submitted to reduce section 375 of the Indian Criminal Code, which has existed since 1860.

The British law of the colonial era mentions several “liberations” – or situations in which sex is not rape – and one of them “man with her own wife” when she is at least 15 years old.

Britain banned marriage rape in 1991, but India, which recently copied its Criminal Code, retained the regressive law in its new Statute Book.

The idea is rooted in the belief that consent to sex is “referring” to marriage and that the wife cannot distract her later. Companies say such an argument on this day and age is impossible, and that forced sex is rape, no matter who is doing it.

But in a country where marriage and family are considered sacred, the question is made by polarized opinion, and there is a strong resistance to the idea of ​​criminal rape criminalization.

The Indian government, religious leaders and men -activists strongly oppose this step.

Last October, the government told the Supreme Court that criminalization of marriage rapes would be “excessively severe”. The Federal Ministry of the House said it could “lead to serious violations at the Mediary Institute.”

Authorities also insist that there are enough laws to protect married women from sexual abuse. But companies say India cannot hide behind the archaic laws to refuse women’s bodily agencies.

“A lot of people say that the Constitution cannot enter your bedroom,” said Ms. Chauhan.

“But does it not give it to women – like all citizens – fundamental security and safety rights? What excessive country do we live in that we remain quiet when a woman should face this level of violence?” she asks.

The violence in marriage in India is playing.

According to A recent state poll32% of married women face physical, sexual or emotional violence by her husband, and 82% experienced sexual abuse by her husbands.

And even this does not give a real scale of the problem, said Ms Shukla because most women do not report violence, especially sexual abuse, with shame.

“From my experience, women are not trusted when they complain, everyone says it should be a fake. The only time is taken seriously when a woman dies or an attack is particularly terrible,” the lawyer said.

Ms. Chauhan believes that nothing will change until the law changes.

“We must criminalize marriage rape. The wife has not received justice after such a terrible incident, deserves a nationwide company that is not born of anger, but seriously (and) well thought out.”

She added that the government and men’s activists are trying to design it as a “man -a -women”.

“But the demand for criminalization of marital rapes is not against men, but for the safety and well -being of women. Is it not important to ensure the safety of women?”