News

RBI Cracks Down On New India Co-operative Bank, Customers Queue Outside Bank

RBI

Customers were seen queuing outside the New India Co-operative Bank branch in Mumbai to withdraw their money after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued guidelines and suspended depositor withdrawals and other restrictions amid supervisory concerns on Thursday.

According to reports, the bank has been incurring losses for the past two years, with a reported loss of Rs 22.78 crore in March 2024, compared to Rs 30.75 crore the previous year.

Dear Readers,
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
Some error occurred

Related posts

National News

‘Unnatural Sex’ With Wife Without Consent, Not An Offence: Chhattisgarh HC

Akanksha Yadav

Let’s begin with a question: Is the wife the property of the husband?

Our judicial system tends to pass such verdicts, which makes me believe that. So If I marry someone, that person owns me. Will I have no say in that relationship?

Well, the answer to this is a big fat NO.

A wife is not considered the property of her husband. According to modern legal and societal views, a wife is an equal partner, an individual in a marriage. She has her own independent rights, meaning she cannot be treated as someone else’s property.

Also Read: “A Strong Message Needs To Be Sent…”: Bombay HC Imposes Rs 1 Lakh Penalty On ED

By the way, it’s not me who’s saying this, but the Laws explicitly state that a wife is not her husband’s property. Also, no human being is legally owned by anybody anywhere in the world.

Did you know that our constitution has a legal principle, the right to choose, which is interpreted in Article 21? This right includes the freedom to make choices and the right to privacy.

Now also take a look at the definition of Rape:

Rape is a heinous act of sexual intercourse committed against any natural person forcefully without their consent. Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code defines Rape as an act committed by a man against the will and without the consent of a woman.

WITHOUT CONSENT, make a note of that. So, if that’s the case, then why does the consent of the wife to have sex in a marriage not matter? If she says no, how can she be forced? Isn’t the consent of an individual their legal right? How can a court take away this right?

Elon Musk’s $97B Offer to Buy OpenAI Rejected

According to reports and recent studies, unwilling sexual contact between a husband and a wife is recognized as a criminal offence in almost every country of the world. However, India is one of the thirty-six countries that still have not criminalized marital rape.

What is the Story?

A wife passed away in a hospital due to unnatural intercourse. According to the doctors, she suffered from peritonitis and rectal perforation. In her dying declaration, the woman accused her husband of forceful sexual intercourse, which led to medical complications. The statement was recorded before an executive magistrate.

Also Read: “I’m Sorry, Comedy Not My Forte”: Ranveer Allahbadia Apologises For Vulgar Remarks

Following this, a trial court convicted the husband and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. But now, the Chhattisgarh High Court has reversed the judgment. The High Court reserved its verdict on 19 November last year and pronounced it on 10 February.

ALSO READ: Manipur: Nitish Kumar’s JDU Pulls Out Of BJP-led Govt

On Monday, the Chhattisgarh High Court acquitted a convicted man for rape and unnatural sexual offence. The high court Court observed, “that a husband cannot be charged with rape or unnatural sex for engaging in sexual relations with his wife, regardless of her consent, as long as she is above 15 years of age”.

The judgement was ruled by a single bench of Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas. The case revolves around the notion of ‘consent’ in marital intercourse. India is one of the thirty-six countries that still have not criminalized marital rape.

ALSO READ: Saudi Arabia: 9 Indians Killed in Road Accident In Jeddah

On Monday, the Chhattisgarh High Court acquitted a convicted man for rape and unnatural sexual offence. The man was arrested in 2017 and later convicted by a trial court in Bastar district.

The judgement was ruled by a single bench of Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas. The case revolves around the notion of ‘consent’ in marital intercourse.

ALSO READ: Rape Convict Ram Rahim Out On Parole Ahead Of Delhi Polls

The bench rules that “If the age of the wife is not below 15 years, then any sexual intercourse or sexual act by the husband cannot be termed as rape. In such circumstances, the absence of the wife’s consent loses its significance”.

This appears to be at odds with a Supreme Court ruling that raised the age of marital rape from 15 to 18. In October 2017, a two-judge bench read down Exception 2 to Section 375 IPC and raised the age of consent to 18 from 15 for the purpose of the Exception. The reforms were made to prevent and address violations of girls’ rights due to child marriage.

ALSO READ: Tamil Nadu BJP Chief Annamalai Whips Himself Demands Justice

Meanwhile, the defence argued that “there was no legally admissible evidence against the accused and that the conviction was based solely on the victim’s statement”. It also questioned the reliability of the dying declaration.

Following this, the court cited Exception 2 under Section 375 of IPC, which exempts a husband from prosecution for raping his wife.

ALSO READ: Kerala Court Sentences Gf Greeshma To Death In Sharon Raj Murder Case

The court also stated, “The trial court has not recorded any finding on how the offence under Section 304 of the IPC is attracted to the present facts of the case and proved by the prosecution. Still, it has convicted the appellant under Section 304 IPC, which is nothing but perversity and patent illegality that deserves to be interfered with by this court.”

The Chhattisgarh High Court acquitted the man of all charges and ordered his immediate release from prison based on these findings.

ALSO READ: “Teach Your Children The Ramayana, Or…”: Kumar Vishwas Sparks Controversy

Now under the current Indian law, marital rape is not recognised as an offence. A husband’s sexual acts with his wife, no matter how forceful, do not amount to rape or unnatural sex. Which are mentioned under Sections 376 (rape) and 377 (unnatural sex) of the Indian Penal Code.

Similarly, in May 2024, Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled that “unnatural sex with a wife is not rape and that a wife’s consent is irrelevant in such matters.” This ruling was again passed by a single-judge bench, Justice GS Ahluwalia.

The court revoked an FIR filed against a husband by his wife, accusing him of having unnatural sex.

ALSO READ: Ranveer Allahabadia’s ‘Vulgar Comedy’ Row Reaches Parliament

Justice GS Ahluwalia noted that “Sexual acts that include penetration of the mouth, urethra, or anus, are considered unnatural under IPC. But if performed by a husband on his wife (provided she is over 15 years old), her consent does not matter legally.”

Well, the recent High Court judgment now leaves unnatural sex and rape out of the ambit of punishment. And there’s no law in India that will punish a man for raping his wife if she is above 15 years.

It’s 2025, but India is still sadly one of those countries in the world today that explicitly decriminalises marital rape. It’s shocking because India has been a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) since 1948. However, the High Court’s decision has caused a lot of commotion and uproar on social media.

Related posts