Marital Rape in Divorce Proceedings

You think you know marital rape cases in divorce proceedings, right? Wrong. There's a catch. In India, there's no provision to register marital rape as a separate crime under the IPC. But, in 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that marital rape isn't an implied exception in Section 375 of the IPC. However, it didn't exactly state that it's a ground for divorce either.

Here's the trap: people assume that just because there's no separate law for marital rape, it automatically becomes a ground for divorce. No. In divorce cases under Section 13(1)(i) and 13(1)(ia) of the HMA, the court only considers cruelty and adultery as grounds. Marital rape is neither. You'll still need to prove mental or physical cruelty, or separate under Section 13(1)(iia). Don't get caught off guard.