Marital Rape In India: A Constitutional And Socio-Legal Analysis
- IJLLR Journal
- 5 days ago
- 1 min read
Mr. Amaan Tamboli, Maharashtra National Law University Chh. Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad)
ABSTRACT
The debate over marital rape in India isn’t just about tweaking criminal laws anymore—it’s now at the heart of the country’s conversation on consent, equality, and bodily autonomy inside marriage. Even after India overhauled its criminal codes with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, lawmakers kept the marital rape exception. That means married women still don’t get the same protection from sexual violence as everyone else.
This article looks closely at Shashi Tharoor’s private member’s bill, which pushes to criminalise marital rape. It places the bill within India’s constitutional framework and takes into account the country’s social and legal realities. The piece argues that the exception isn’t just a legal quirk—it builds in a kind of immunity that mostly hurts women who are poor, lower- caste, or financially dependent. For them, sexual coercion in marriage is tangled up with social control and a lack of real choices to leave.
The article doesn’t shy away from the usual arguments against reform— concerns about false cases, threats to marital stability, and whether society is ready. It digs into the data and finds that the idea of widespread false accusations just doesn’t hold up. By looking at existing laws, constitutional rights, and how other countries handle this issue, the article makes a clear case: criminalising marital rape isn’t just a symbolic gesture. It’s a necessary move if India wants its laws to actually reflect consent, dignity, and real equality within families.
