Former Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra바카라s remark that marital rape should not be made a crime has stirred a hornet바카라s nest. Slamming the former CJI, many activists and top lawyers said that his views exposed how India바카라s legal and social structures are stacked against women.
Misra on Monday said that marital rape should not be made an offence because it will destabilise the institution of marriages India. He made the remark at a conference at KLE Society바카라s Law College in Bengaluru.
Speaking to Outlook, senior Supreme Court lawyer Vrinda Grover said such comments from a former chief justice will lead to anarchy.
바카라The comments are deeply troubling and offensive because it came from a person who held the highest office in the country, an office which ensures the constitutional right of all, including women. These comments reveal that his perception that when a woman marries, she loses her sovereignty, autonomy and her agency on her body and it reduces her to a chattel in marriage,바카라 said Grover.
바카라If former CJI makes such comments, it will create anarchy. His own admission is that the institution of family is surviving through violence on women바카라s body and the sanctity of Indian marriages rests on inflicting violence. It바카라s not the society we want, this should be demolished,바카라 says Grover.
Supreme Court lawyer Rebecca John said that the comments of former CJI revealed deep-seated misogyny, which women lawyers encounter inside and outside the court on a daily basis, 바카라Misra stands completely exposed on the platform of patriarchy. He didn바카라t even try to cover it up,바카라 Rebecca John said.
She also said it바카라s alarming that the remarks were made by an ex CJI, who authored judgments such as the abolition of Section 377 and on right to privacy.
바카라I am also amazed that the comments are coming from a CJI who authored judgments like the abolition of section 377. He now tells us that we must respect family values, and criminalization of marital rape will lead to anarchy. It바카라s a complete lack of understanding of what sexual violence does to women,바카라 she says.
Activists and lawyers have been demanding that marital rape in India be criminalised, with many pointing out that the UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women also recommends the same. The Justice J S Verma committee has also recommended the removal of the marital rape exception from Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code. According to Section 375 of the IPC, forced intercourse by a man with his own wife, who is not under 18 years of age, does not count as rape.
More than 80 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Bhutan and France recognise marital rape as a crime.
In 2015, Minister of State Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary has sparked a row when he said that marital rape is not punishable바카라 as marriage is "sacrosanct".
One argument that바카라s always held against criminalising marital rape is that married women are covered by the 바카라Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act of 2005바카라 and they don바카라t need any more laws in this regard. However, Grover says that it is a civil law and not a criminal law. Taking the argument forward, Mary E John of Centre for Women바카라s Development studies says that stiff resistance to pro- women judgments always exists. 바카라When women were getting property rights, it was said that it will lead to break down of marriage,바카라 says Mary E John.
Activists also criticised Misra바카라s statement saying that the presumption of consent merely by virtue of marriage is deeply troubling. 바카라Does that mean that the sanctity of the family lies upon non- consensual sex with wife? Should we be proud of that? Is that the protectors of Indian family want?바카라 asks Mary E John.
바카라We have heard such comments from ministers before and it바카라s expected. However, when an ex CJI advocates such views, he must have a discussion and we shouldn바카라t close it,바카라 says Rebecca John.
