Delhi High Court (File) THE DELHI High Court on Friday asked the Centre to clarify whether it wants to withdraw its reply which was filed in 2017 in response to the petitions seeking criminalisation of marital rape. The Centre has earlier told the court that it wants to place a fresh and constructive stand before the court in the matter, which has remained pending since 2015.
“Take instructions on that as well,” the court told Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma after advocate Karuna Nundy, representing one of the petitioners, asked whether she should address arguments on Centre’s earlier affidavit or it was being withdrawn.
The division bench of Justice Rajiv Shakdher and Justice C Hari Shankar has been hearing the petitions challenging the Exception 2 in IPC Section 375 that protects men, who have forced non-consensual intercourse with their wives, from criminal prosecution under Section 376 IPC.
The Centre in 2017 submitted that striking down the exception “may destabilise the institution of marriage apart from being an easy tool for harassing the husbands”.
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