{"id":346319,"date":"2025-04-23T12:00:22","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T06:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=346319"},"modified":"2025-04-29T15:36:18","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T10:06:18","slug":"marital-rape-is-not-recognised-under-ipc-mp-high-court-upholds-husbands-discharge-from-charge-under-section-377-ipc-scc-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/04\/23\/marital-rape-is-not-recognised-under-ipc-mp-high-court-upholds-husbands-discharge-from-charge-under-section-377-ipc-scc-times\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cMarital Rape is not recognised under IPC\u201d; MP High Court upholds husband\u2019s discharge from Section 377 IPC charge"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Madhya Pradesh High Court:<\/span> In a criminal revision petition filed under Section 397 read with Section 401<\/a> of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973<\/a> (CrPC)1<\/sup><\/a> challenging the discharge of husband from the charge under Section 377<\/a> Penal Code, 1860<\/a> (IPC), a single-judge bench of Binod Kumar Dwivedi, J., reaffirmed the existing legal position that marital rape is not recognised as a criminal offence under IPC<\/a> and dismissed the revision petition.<\/p>\n

In the instant matter, the petitioner-wife was married to the respondent 2-husband on 31-01-2016, in accordance with Hindu rites and customs. The marriage subsisted for about eight years. However, during the course of their marital life, the wife alleged that she was subjected to cruelty in connection with demand for dowry and was also forced to engage in unnatural sexual intercourse.<\/p>\n

On 03-07-2023, the wife lodged an FIR at the Police Station Mahila Thana, Indore, alleging offences punishable under Sections 498-A<\/a>, 377<\/a>, 323<\/a>, 294<\/a>, and 506<\/a> read with Section 34<\/a> of the IPC<\/a> and Sections 3<\/a> and 4<\/a> of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Subsequently, the husband filed an application under Sections 227<\/a> and 228<\/a> of the CrPC<\/a> seeking discharge from the charge under Section 377<\/a> IPC<\/a>. The Sessions Court, vide order dated 03-02-2024, allowed the application and discharged the husband from the charge under Section 377<\/a> IPC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The petitioner-wife contended that the discharge order is erroneous in law, particularly when the FIR and other supporting evidence clearly disclosed the commission of an offence under Section 377<\/a> IPC<\/a>. The petitioner relied on P. Vijayan<\/span> v. State of Kerala<\/span>, (2010) 2 SCC 398<\/a> and argued that discharge can only be granted if the allegations do not disclose any offence.<\/p>\n

However, the respondent 2-husband opposed the revision petition and submitted that post the constitutional interpretation of Section 377 in Navtej Singh Johar<\/span> v. Union of India<\/span>, (2018) 10 SCC 1<\/a> and the amended definition of rape under Section 375<\/a> IPC<\/a>, sexual acts between a husband and wife, including those described as “unnatural,” are not punishable under Section 377<\/a> IPC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Court observed that although specific allegations of unnatural sexual intercourse are levelled against the husband, but in view of the amended definition of “rape” under Section 375<\/a> IPC<\/a>, such an act, even if committed without consent, does not constitute an offence under Section 377 if it occurs between a husband and his legally wedded wife living together.<\/p>\n

The Court cited Manish Sahu<\/span> v. State of M.P.<\/span>, 2024 SCC OnLine MP 2603<\/a>, where the Supreme Court held that “if a wife is residing with her husband during the subsistence of a valid marriage, then any sexual intercourse or sexual act by a man with his own wife not below the age of fifteen years will not be rape… absence of consent of wife for unnatural act loses its importance. Marital rape has not been recognized so far.”<\/span><\/p>\n

As per amended definition of ‘rape’ under Section 375<\/a> of IPC<\/a> and plethora of precedents referred, the Court held that “till date ‘marital rape’ has not been recognized under IPC<\/a>.”<\/span> The Court held that the trial court had rightly discharged the husband from Section 377<\/a> IPC<\/a>. The Court upheld the discharge order and dismissed the revision petition was dismissed.<\/p>\n

[Jaina Katlana<\/span> v. State of M.P.<\/span>, 2025 SCC OnLine MP 3330<\/a>, Decided on 07-04-2025<\/span>]<\/p>\n\n

Advocates who appeared in this case :<\/p>\n

Shri Abhay Saraswat, Counsel for the Petitioner\/Wife<\/p>\n

Shri Rahul Solanki, Counsel for the Respondent No. 1\/State<\/p>\n

Shri Ritu Raj Bhatnagar, Counsel for the Respondent No. 2\/Husband<\/p>\n

Buy Penal Code, 1860   HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n

\"penal<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973  HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n

\"Code<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

1.<\/a> Section 438 read with Section 442<\/a> of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023<\/a> (BHSS).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The definition of ‘rape’ excludes acts between a man and his wife, not below the age of fifteen years, performed during the subsistence of a valid marriage.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67514,"featured_media":317738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[3491,51811,33983,67385,72888,7201,21092,81293,2572,19501,58245],"class_list":["post-346319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casebriefs","category-highcourts","tag-consent","tag-criminal-revision","tag-discharge-of-accused","tag-husband-and-wife","tag-justice-binod-kumar-dwivedi","tag-madhya-pradesh-high-court","tag-marital-rape","tag-marital-rape-in-india","tag-Rape","tag-section-377-ipc","tag-unnatural-offences"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cMarital Rape is not recognised under IPC\u201d; MP High Court upholds husband\u2019s discharge from charge under Section 377 IPC | SCC Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"MP High Court upheld the husband\u2019s discharge from charge under Section 377 IPC and stated that \u201cMarital Rape is not recognised under IPC.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/04\/23\/marital-rape-is-not-recognised-under-ipc-mp-high-court-upholds-husbands-discharge-from-charge-under-section-377-ipc-scc-times\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cMarital Rape is not recognised under IPC\u201d; 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physical or mental cruelty alone is sufficient.","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Madhya Pradesh High Court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Madhya-Pradesh-High-Court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Madhya-Pradesh-High-Court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Madhya-Pradesh-High-Court.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Madhya-Pradesh-High-Court.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":372388,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/01\/13\/forced-unnatural-sex-by-husband-amounts-to-cruelty-but-cant-be-rape-mp-hc\/","url_meta":{"origin":346319,"position":2},"title":"“Forced unnatural sex by husband is cruelty under S. 498A IPC, not rape”: MP HC quashes Rape, Section 377 IPC charges","author":"Sonali Ahuja","date":"January 13, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cForced unnatural sex by a husband on his wife amounts to cruelty under Section 498A of the IPC, but cannot be prosecuted as rape under Section 376 of the IPC as in a Section 377 context, marital rape concept is not recognized under current law because of the express marital\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Forced unnatural sex by husband is cruelty","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Forced-unnatural-sex-by-husband-is-cruelty.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Forced-unnatural-sex-by-husband-is-cruelty.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Forced-unnatural-sex-by-husband-is-cruelty.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Forced-unnatural-sex-by-husband-is-cruelty.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":309268,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/12\/14\/protection-marital-rape-continues-where-wife-18-years-old-more-allahabad-hc-acquits-husband-under-s-377\/","url_meta":{"origin":346319,"position":3},"title":"Protection from marital rape continues in case where wife is 18 years old or more: Allahabad HC acquits husband under S. 377 IPC","author":"Apoorva","date":"December 14, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Court remarked that in the proposed Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita which is likely to replace IPC, no provision like Section 377 IPC is included therein","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"allahabad high court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/allahabad-high-court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/allahabad-high-court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/allahabad-high-court.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/allahabad-high-court.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":348480,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/05\/21\/section-377-ipc-cannot-be-applied-to-criminalise-marital-sex-dhc\/","url_meta":{"origin":346319,"position":4},"title":"Section 377 of IPC cannot be applied to criminalise marital sex: Delhi High Court","author":"Arushi","date":"May 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Court stated that the charge under Section 377 of IPC could not have been framed against the husband. A \u2018consensual\u2019 oral or anal intercourse between any two adults, in private, is not a criminal offence punishable under Section 377 of IPC.","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Delhi High Court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Delhi-High-Court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Delhi-High-Court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Delhi-High-Court.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Delhi-High-Court.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":195303,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2018\/04\/18\/marital-rape-a-husband-cannot-be-permitted-to-treat-his-wife-like-a-chattel-and-violate-her-dignity\/","url_meta":{"origin":346319,"position":5},"title":"Marital rape: A husband cannot be permitted to treat his wife like a chattel and violate her dignity\u00a0","author":"Saba","date":"April 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Gujarat High Court: While deciding the present case wherein the focal point was marital rape and unnatural carnal activity, the Bench of J.B. 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