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The Chhattisgarh High Court has acquitted a man who had been convicted of rape, unnatural offenses, and the death of his wife due to a sexual act involving the rectum. The judgment, delivered by Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas, has sparked controversy and raised questions regarding the legal provisions on marital consent.
The case dates back to 2017, when Gorakhnth Sharma, a resident of Jagdalpur, Bastar district, was arrested after his wife passed away following an alleged forceful sexual act committed by him. Before her death, she had recorded a dying declaration stating that her husband had engaged in an unnatural sexual act, causing her severe pain. This led to charges being filed against him under Sections 375 (rape), 377 (unnatural offenses), and 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The trial court convicted Sharma in 2019, sentencing him to ten years in prison, based largely on the victim’s dying declaration. However, during the appeal process, the defense argued that the conviction was based solely on the dying declaration and lacked corroborating evidence. The defense also pointed to statements from two witnesses who testified that the victim had suffered from piles, which could have been the cause of her pain, not the alleged sexual act.
High Court’s Ruling
The High Court, after reviewing the evidence and legal provisions, determined that the charges of rape and unnatural sex could not be upheld, citing the amended definition of Section 375 IPC. The amendment introduced in 2013 includes Exception 2, which exempts marital sexual acts from being classified as rape, provided the wife is not below the age of 15. The court noted that even in the absence of consent, sexual acts between a husband and wife do not qualify as rape under Section 375, and therefore, cannot be considered an offence under Section 377 (unnatural sex).
The court observed that the overlap in definitions between Sections 375 and 377 rendered the latter inapplicable to marital acts. It emphasized that consent for marital sex, including unnatural acts, loses its significance within the boundaries of this exception. The judgment further stated that the dying declaration of the victim lacked sufficient corroboration from other evidence, leading to doubts over its authenticity.
The High Court ultimately ruled that the offense under Sections 375 and 377 of the IPC was not made out in this case, as marital acts, even if non-consensual, are excluded from these provisions. The court also found the conviction under Section 304 IPC to be “perverse” due to a lack of evidence supporting the claim of causing death by negligence.
As a result, Gorakhnth Sharma was acquitted of all charges, and the High Court ordered his immediate release from prison.
