New Delhi Jan 24 PTI Forced intercourse with wife violates her right to bodily integrity as well as her sexual decisional autonomy and there is no other legal provision apart from the offence of rape under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code sufficient to prosecute the husband for that wrongdoing the Delhi High Court was told on Monday Senior advocate Rebecca John who was appointed as amicus curiae to assist the court on the petitions challenging the constitutionality of themaritalrapeexception under section 375 rape IPC stated that the other offences that can be committed by the husband including Sections 304 and 498A IPC and the violations under the domestic violence act are distinct from the crime of rape and were introduced to deal with specific issuesSection 498A includes an element of cruelty It is not anyones case that rape is not a cruel act but cruelty in Section 498A is in connection with the dowry which is different from rape in Section 375 IPC Each of these offences is a standalone offence Rape cannot be prosecuted under Section 498A said the senior lawyer who concluded her submissions in the caseThe bench of Justices Rajiv Shakdher and C Hari Shankar is hearing PILs filed by NGOs RIT Foundation All India Democratic Womens Association a man and a woman seeking striking down of the exception granted to husbands under the Indian rape lawThe court refused to entertain an intervention application and said that it cannot allow parties to interfere at a belated stage when the case has been pending for a long timeLawyer J Sai Deepak appearing for the intervenor said that there wasnt a balance of representation with respect to the plurality of positionsthat are possible on the issue The Centre sought time from the court to formulate its stand after consultation with the stakeholders While closing her submissions John said that the striking down of the immunity granted to a husband concerning the offence of rape would not create a new offence and it disregarded a wifes consent and the right to say noAs against marital expectations the wife has the right to sexual decisional autonomy and therefore in expectation versus right it is the right of the woman which must be upheld she submittedA wifes right to bodily integrity will stand violated if the expectation of sexual intercourse is translated into a physical act of forced sexual intercourse without consent the amicus said as she emphasised that the international treaties and covenants such as Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women should also be taken into account while deciding the present caseShe also said that there should be a sentencing board for the determination of the sentence to be awarded to an offender and discretion should be given to the trial court for reduction of sentence in appropriate casesThe amicus had earlier argued that there is no right but only an expectation of conjugal relations with wife in a marriage and the same also cannot lead to the husband having forced relations with herShe had also said that unlike several offences under the Indian Penal Code the offence of rape was gendered having consent of a woman as one of the ingredients and that the Justice JS Verma Committee report on amendments to criminal law had also recommended the deletion of the marital rape exceptionThe senior lawyer had further highlighted that such an exemption was not present in several other sexual offences in the IPC including Section 354A IPC which concerns showing pornography to a femaleAnother amicus curiae and senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao had earlier told the court that apprehensions of misuse and protection of the institution of marriage cannot be a ground to sustain the marital rape exception in the Indian Penal Code IPCHe had said that there was always a possibility of misuse of criminal offences and had the object of the legislation been to protect the institution of marriage wives would not have been given the power to prosecute husbands for any offence including lessor sexual offencesThe Delhi government has earlier told the court that marital rape was already covered as a crime of cruelty under the IPCThe Centre has earlier told the high court that it was considering a constructive approach to the issue and holding consultations with the stakeholders The central government in its earlier affidavit filed in the case has said that marital rape cannot be made a criminal offence as it could become a phenomenon that may destabilise the institution of marriage and an easy tool for harassing the husbands The petitioners have challenged the constitutionality of the marital rape exception under section 375 IPC rape on the ground that it discriminated against married women who aresexually assaulted by their husbands The court will hear the matter next on January 25 PTI ADS RKS RKS

New Delhi Jan 24 PTI Senior advocate Rebecca John on Monday told the Delhi High Court that she has been receiving hate mails asking her to step down from the position of amicus curiae in petitions seeking the criminalisation of marital rape as she already has an opinion on the issueThe senior lawyer who contendedthat the marital rape exception was not constitutional said that the marital rape exception would be tested on the anvil of its constitutionality and an individuals opinion was not relevantTo all those who asked me to recuse from the matter because I have an opinion on the subject Ive been receiving a lot of hate mail Ultimately the challenge is only to be tested on the anvil of constitutionality If it is constitutionally sound the exception remains If it is unconstitutional it goes It doesnt matter what views we hold on the subject she saidIf having a view was a ground for recusal then everyone should recuse from every case Every intelligent person has a view on everything remarked Justice C Hari Shankar who is part of the division bench headed by Justice Rajiv ShakdherThe bench is hearing PILs filed by NGOs RIT Foundation All India Democratic Womens Association a man and a woman seeking striking down of the exception granted to husbands under the Indian rape lawThe senior lawyer argued before the court that forced intercourse with the wife violated her right to bodily integrity and sexual decisional autonomy as she concluded her submissions She had earlier argued that there is no right but only an expectation of conjugal relations with wife in a marriage and the same also cannot lead to the husband having forced relations with herShe had also said that unlike several offences under the Indian Penal Code the offence of rape was gendered having consent of a woman as one of the ingredients and that the Justice JS Verma Committee report on amendments to criminal law had also recommended the deletion of the marital rape exceptionThe petitioners have challenged the constitutionality of the marital rape exception under section 375 IPC rape on the ground that it discriminated against married women who are sexually assaulted by their husbands PTI ADS RKS RKS

New Delhi [India], January 21 (ANI): Amicus and Senior Advocate Rebecca John on Friday told the Delhi High Court that there can be a legitimate expectation regarding sex in a marriage, but it cannot lead to forcible sex with the wife.

New Delhi Jan 21 PTI There is no right but only an expectation of conjugal relations with wife in a marriage and the same also cannot lead to the husband having forced relations with her the Delhi High Court was told on FridaySenior advocate Rebecca John who has been appointed as amicus curiae to assist the court on the petitions seeking to criminalise marital rape said that expecting a sexual relationship is not wrong in marriage but if the wife withdraws the remedy is through dialogue or the husband may seek a civil remedy Expectation cannot result in the husband having forced sex with his wife The consequences of the withdrawal maybe something else It may result in the marriage breaking down Im not denying that It may result in the husband seeking a civil remedy In a given situation the husband may be right and the right may be unreasonablebut there is no right There can be an expectation The expectation cannot lead to forceable sex on your wife the senior lawyer told a bench of Justices Rajiv Shakdher and C Hari ShankarI dont want to trivialise it This is not about expectation and one woman saying one day that Im not in the mood This is about a man exercising his dominant right over his wife despite the wife saying that I cannot and will not do it with you she explainedThe amicus submissions were in response to the courts observation that there was a quantitate difference between a married and unmarried relationship with the former entailing an element of expectation of a reasonable sexual relationshipThe bench is hearing PILs filed by NGOs RIT Foundation All India Democratic Womens Association a man and a woman seeking striking down of the exception granted to husbands under the Indian rape lawIn response to the courts query that if the offence of rape was to be analysed from the perspective of the act and not the woman the amicus said that unlike several offences under the Indian Penal Code the offence of rape was gendered and has consent of a woman as one of the ingredientsThe court also questioned if the marital rape exception could be said to be unconstitutional if the law was gender-neutralThe amicus said that a gender-neutral exception would create a false equivalence between a husband and wife and disregard the lived experiences of wives who are not equal in realityShe also submitted that the Justice J S Verma Committee report on amendments to criminal law had recommended the deletion of the marital rape exception and highlighted that such an exemption is not present in several other sexual offences in the IPC including Section 354A IPC which concerns showing pornography to a femaleEven if the wife has the option to prosecute the husband for other sexual offences it cannot be said to be the prosecution for the offence of rape the senior advocate stated The amicus also highlighted that under section 376B IPC sexual intercourse with ones wife who is living separately whether under a decree of separation or otherwise without her consent was punishable She submitted that the Supreme Court has saidin a case that marriage was personal and not institutional in natureOn the point of the offence of rape being punishable with ten years imprisonment the senior lawyer said that there were exceptionally high sentences in the country Another amicus curiae and senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao had earlier told the court that apprehensions of misuse and protection of the institution of marriage cannot be a ground to sustain the marital rape exception in the Indian Penal Code IPCHe had said that there was always a possibility of misuse of criminal offences and had the object of the legislation been to protect the institution of marriage wives would not have been given the power to prosecute husbands for any offence including lessor sexual offencesThe Centre on January 13 had told the high court that it was considering a constructive approach to the issueThe central government in its earlier affidavit filed in the case has said that marital rape cannot be made a criminal offence as it could become a phenomenon that may destabilise the institution of marriage and an easy tool for harassing the husbandsThe Delhi government has told the court that marital rape was already covered as a crime of cruelty under the IPCThe petitioners have challenged the constitutionality of the marital rape exception under section 375 IPC rape on the ground that it discriminated against married women who are sexually assaulted by their husbands The court will hear the matter next on January 24 PTI ADS RKS RKS

New Delhi Sep 28 PTI A Delhi court Tuesday ordered in-camera hearing of the domestic violence case filed against Punjabi singer Yo Yo Honey Singh by his wife Metropolitan Magistrate Tania Singh passed the order after taking consent from Singh and his wife Shalini Talwar If there is even a slight possibility of reconciliation that should not be ruled out the judge said Hirdesh Singh professionally known as Yo Yo Honey Singh and Talwar tied the knot on January 23 2011 Talwar has charted out in her plea how she was allegedly physically assaulted by Singh over the last ten years of their marriage She also alleged that Honey Singh cheated on her She has sought Rs 20 crore compensation from her singer-actor husband under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act Talwar was represented by advocate Sandeep Kapur Senior Partner Karanjawala Company along with advocates Apoorva Pandey and GG Kashyap Honey Singh was represented by advocate Rebecca John while advocate Karan Govel appeared for singers parents PTI AAK SA

New Delhi [India], September 3 (ANI): Delhi's Tis Hazari Court on Friday listed the matter of domestic violence involving Bollywood singer and actor Yo Yo Honey Singh for September 28.

New Delhi August 23 PTI The Delhi High Court Monday directed the city police to handover the keys of the residential portion of the Nizamuddin Markaz to its occupants after it was locked by the authorities in the wake of an FIR in connection with theTablighiJamaat congregation there last yearJustice Yogesh Khanna who was hearing a plea by the mother of Jamaat leader Maulana Saad directed that the keys be handed over to her within two days and clarified that for now the occupants cannot enter any non-residential portion of the propertyThe court issued notice on the plea challenging a trial court order denying access to the petitioner a senior citizen to her residence and sought a status report from police on the existence of any order on the locking of the residential premisesIn the meantime let the keys of the residential premises be provided within two days from today The petitioner is directed not to enter any other portion of the markaz premises till further orders the judge saidAdmittedly there is no order of sealing or seizure of the premises and since April 1 2020 the residential premise is lying locked observed the courtThe court noted that the petitioner was living in the premises with eleven family members and said that they cannot be allowed to stay in guesthousesWe cannot allow people to reside in guesthouses or any other place other than their own house said the judge who further stated that preservation of site pursuant to a criminal proceeding did not mean locking up the placeWhat is section 60 of Evidence Act on oral evidence section 310 Code of Criminal Procedure on local inspection What sections have you put Preserving a site does not mean you lock Take photos and move from the site What was recovered Case was only that people were residing there the court addedSenior advocate Rebecca John appearing for the petitioner said that these sections were not applicable to the present case and that her clients residence could not be snatched awayCounsel for the prosecution advocate Amit Ahlawat said that the residents were at the relevant time living in violation of the COVID-19 protocolsIn her petition filed through advocate Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi the petitioner Khadija has said that on March 31 2020 the entire Nizamuddin Mosque was vacated and locked for the purported purpose of sanitization and disinfection by the authorities and to extend utmost cooperation to the authorities the keys of the Markaz including the residential portion were handed over to the Delhi Police on April 1 2020Even though several months have elapsed since the handing over the keys the petitioner or her family members are being prevented from entering or accessing their own residence it saidThe petition submitted that neither the petitioner nor her family are aware of any orders made with regard to sealing of the property It said no such information was even verbally communicated as the premises had been stated to have been vacated for the limited purposes of sanitization and disinfection in light of the pandemic of COVID-19 It claimed that the investigation in the concerned FIR is running at a snails pace and anyoffence if at all was committed in the Markaz premises which was separate from the four-storied residential premises The matter would be heard next on December 9 PTI ADS RKS RKS