A three-judge bench, including Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, ordered the case to be listed after four weeks. File. | Photo Credit: ANI
India’s Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, who will retire on November 11, withdrew from hearing the marital rape case on Wednesday (October 23, 2024) after saying that the lawyers’ arguments would not end in the “foreseeable future”.
What was expected to be just another day of the hearing of this case started when the senior lawyers of both sides wanted a day for each person to make their presentations in court.
Also read this issue: Explained | Marital rape in India: A history of legal exceptions
Senior advocates Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Rakesh Dwivedi, Indira Jaising and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, informed the Bench headed by the Chief Justice that they would at least take a day each to present detailed arguments. Mr. Mehta said the case was “polycentric” and had an impact on society, requiring a wide-ranging public hearing by the government.
Chief Justice Chandrachud also found that there are still many lawyers who want time to argue in this case. The Chief Justice said that the Bench cannot prevent anyone from presenting their submissions.
However, the CJI said he expected the case to be reserved for sentencing before the Deepavali holidays.
October 25 is the last working day before the court closes for the Deepavali holidays. Court reopens on November 4. The Chief Justice’s last day of work is November 8.
“It will not be possible to conclude in the future,” the CJI commented orally.
A three-judge bench, including Justice JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, ordered the case to be registered after four weeks.
The mantle of forming the new Bench will fall to Chief Justice Chandrachud and Chief Justice of India nominee Justice Sanjiv Khanna.
The case of marital rape ended on October 23 in a mysterious way.
The petitioners argued that the protection afforded to non-consensual sexual acts by a man with his own wife violates women’s right to physical integrity, independence and dignity.
However, a recent affidavit filed by the Center said that criminalizing non-consensual sexual acts in marriage and classifying it as rape will affect marital relations and cause “great disruption” in marriage.
The appeals seek to reject Exception 2 of Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code. The statute excludes non-consensual intercourse between a man and his wife, if the husband is over fifteen years of age, from the definition of ‘rape’.
The appeals were triggered by decisions from the Karnataka and Delhi High Courts, which require an authoritative pronouncement from the apex court.
The Karnataka High Court said that a man should be charged with rape if he forcibly has sex with his wife. The Karnataka government has supported the Supreme Court’s decision in a later high court affidavit.
Read more | Marital rape hearing updates — October 23, 2024
Delhi High Court The Delhi High Court in May last year issued a separate judgment in a separate case on the same issue. Justice Rajiv Shakdher, who presided over a two-judge bench, struck down as unconstitutional Exception two to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
However, Justice C. Hari Shankar, a fellow judge in the Supreme Court, rejected the request for marital rape, saying that any change in the law should be made by the legislature as this issue needs to be considered from various factors, including. social, cultural and legal.
Published – October 23, 2024 02:03 pm IST
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