“Marital rape is a heinous act and grounds for divorce” - a Kerala Magistrates' Court has passed a landmark ordinance recognizing the autonomy and individual rights of married women. Judges A Muhamed Mustaque and Kauser Edappagath issued the order on July 30 during a hearing of a woman's divorce petition from her husband for harassment and cruelty.
"The faithful behaviour of a husband who disregards his wife's right to self-determination is an act of marital rape which, although it cannot be punished, falls within the scope of physical and moral brutality", ordered the court.
The court examines a woman's petition for a divorce on cruel grounds and requests that her husband's petition to restore marital rights be dismissed. The couple had an arranged marriage in February 1995 and had two children. However, a few years later, she filed for divorce and a family court ruled in her favour. The man then went to the Kerala High Court, which is hearing his appeal.
The woman explained in her petition that her husband had never practised medicine but instead worked in real estate and construction. However, he failed to do so, she said. The woman testified in court that she had given 501 gold nuggets at the time of the marriage as a dowry, in addition to a car and an apartment, but he continued to harass her and demanded that she money over and over. . The woman told the court that her father, a businessman, had given her Rs 77 lakh on various occasions and that the gold her family gave her was also embezzled.