NEW DELHI: A plea was filed in the Delhi High Court on Wednesday seeking direction to the Centre to frame guidelines for registration of FIR for marital rape as also laws for making it a ground for divorce.
The PIL sought that there should be a clear guideline for registration of cases related to marital rape under framed guidelines and laws, so that accountability, responsibility and liability of the authorities concerned can be fixed.
The plea, likely to be listed next week, was filed after the Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain it and asked the petitioner, advocate Anuja Kapur, to approach the high court for relief.
She also sought direction to the government for fixing appropriate punishment/ penalties for violation of the guidelines and laws to be framed and enacted respectively.
“Marital rape is no less an offence than murder, culpable homicide or rape per se. It denigrates the honour and dignity of a human being, and reduces her to a chattel to be utilised for one’s self convenience and comfort. It reduces a woman to a corpse, living under the constant fear of hurt or injury. Medical evidence proves that rape has severe and long-lasting consequences for women,” the plea said.
Kapur said at present there is an ambiguity in the implementation of marital rape as a ground of punishment or penalty during the registration of such a case in ambit of law.