Wives and Section 375 IPC

Just a funny post and some of you may need parental permission to read it ;-)

Last week..when a bunch of junior advocates and wannabe advocates were idling at the office , the conversation turned to sec375 IPC.

For the purpose of this post..I will give a brief intro to secs 323,324 ,325,326and sec 375 of The Indian Penal Code .

Sections 323 to 326 deals with causing bodily injuries and the degree varies according to the weapons used and the gravity of the injury.

In Sec.375 ...The main aspects that constitute rape
1. is 'against the will' of the woman
2. and 'without her consent'
3. or fraudulently obtaining consent misleading the woman to believe that she
is his wife
4. with or without her consent when she is under sixteens years of age
5. or with a girl less than the age of fifteen if she is his wife.

It clearly says that the husband is protected from sec375 if she is his lawfully wedded wife (consent is granted) .

Almost all the women felt that the section shd be amended to include wives too . That is, the husband needs the consent of the wife...and it shd not be assumed that the wife has given her consent. Its either the wife be protected by sec375 or the husbands should be excluded from secs 323 to 326 IPC.

And as expected , the argument would be what if the wife agrees and then out of some other spite files a case against her husband...what defense would the husband have..what proof would he produce ? (There were jokes like..he shd keep a stamp paper ready to get her express consent :p :)) ).

Well...lets see the legal implications if the section is amended...the husband is in no better legal position than a man having an affair with any other woman . In affairs, the man is definitely exposed to sec.375 , if the lady decides to give the guy a difficult time . If a man is charged with rape and he claims he had her consent , the onus of proof is on the accused. Ofcourse he can always prove that they were going out together and she was his girl friend etc . But , its a hassle , and a major one.

I remember watching a movie where a high-school girl files a case against her school-mate for rape .She has an affair with him but subsequently breaks up with this guy..after the break-up, one late evening in the school premises he rapes her in his car and his current girl friend sees that. It would be argued in the court that since she previously went out with him , it would not amount to rape. But finally the girl friend becomes a witness and gives evidence that she heard the girl scream , saw the girl protest inside the car and she knew even at that time ,that it was rape.Finally the boy would be convicted . That was one new angle to the whole picture. (I really did'nt pay much attention to the name of the movie..).

Back to our topic..if the section protects wives..many husbands would rather lead a life of celibacy than get into trouble . The argument from the wives is that since they are not protected u/s375 IPC, (as it is now) , the only option for them would be to resort to violence . The sections that protects all from bodily injury are secs 323 to 326 IPC .(Men have no protection under Domestic violence act ).

The demand is if wives are not included in sec375 then husbands shd not be included in sec 323 to 326 (Its only against their wives..its applicable when the offender is anyone other than his wife).

They either get the consent or get beaten up . They have no legal help if they are bashed up by their wives .Ah..what a solution !

But all this would only lead to marital discord. And the next step is usually the family court or some marriage counsellor..and what would the advice be...'Concentrate on some activity that engages you or learn something new'...yeah and in the situation....the wife would opt to go to 'karate' classes and the husband shd attend 'body-building' classes :)

And all would be hunky-dory between them.....the women protects herself and the man can have fun too..whether he has his wife's consent or not.

Now , do you get the point ....that its the height of absurdity to ask for wives to be protected under sec375 IPC ? The very idea behind the institution of marriage fails if this is done . I strongly feel things should be left as it is .