No crime in ‘unnatural’ marital relations, court delivers big verdict

Gwalior (The Uttam Hindu): The Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has made a significant observation in a marital dispute case, stating that sexual acts occurring within a marriage cannot be treated as an “unnatural offence” under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The court emphasized that such acts fall within the scope of marital relations.

In its ruling, a single bench of Justice Milind Ramesh Phadke noted that even if the allegations are assumed to be true at a preliminary stage, they pertain to actions within a marital relationship. Therefore, the “marital exception” under Section 375 applies, and the charges under Section 377 cannot be sustained. The court granted partial relief to the husband by dismissing the Section 377 case and also dropped proceedings against the sister-in-law due to lack of evidence.

However, the court clarified that the case will proceed on other serious charges. It found sufficient grounds to continue the trial against the husband, mother-in-law, and father-in-law in connection with allegations such as dowry harassment. The case originates from Bhind district, where the woman accused her in-laws of demanding additional dowry, subjecting her to abuse, and forcing her out of the house, along with allegations of coercion by her husband.