Who appealed to the Supreme Court?
Petitioner Khushbu Saifi has filed the petition in the Delhi High Court. On May 11 last year, the Delhi High Court had given a split verdict on the matter. However, two judges comprising the bench, Justice Rajeev Shakdhar and Justice C Hari Shankar, allowed the appeal to the Supreme Court as it involved important legal issues for the Supreme Court to consider. A man on trial for allegedly raping his wife has filed another plea in the Karnataka High Court.
What verdict did the High Court take?
On March 23 last year, the Karnataka High Court had said that granting immunity to husbands from the charges of rape and having unnatural sex with their wives was contrary to Article 14 (equality before law) of the Constitution. Some other petitions have also been filed in the Supreme Court in this regard. Some petitioners have questioned the constitutionality of the exemption from marital rape under Section 375 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code on the grounds that it discriminates against married women who are sexually abused by their husbands.
