Kiran Rijiju, Minister of State for Home Affairs hinted on Friday that a comprehensive bill to criminalize marital rape will soon be tabled in Parliament, news reports said.
Debating on a Private Member Bill by Avinash Pande of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha, Rijiju said, "The issue of marital rape is very complicated and very difficult to explain or describe. These are extremely personal and no consent records are available. The matter has been dealt in detail by a Parliamentary Committee as well as the Law Commission."
He said the Parliamentary Committee in its report has recommended the need for a comprehensive review of the criminal system of law.
He further added that the Law Commission "is very much in sync with us as well as the sentiments of this House" and the government is not opposed to the idea.
The Commission had taken up the matter for study in 2013 and had identified certain focus areas and formed sub-groups to deliberate on the same.
The Minister also stated that there was already a specific clause under Section 498A dealing with cruelty against women.
Reacting to this, Deputy Chairman of the House, P J Kurien asked, "If you think that marital rape is a crime, then, why should the government wait for the report? Rape is a crime whether by the husband or any other person. In that case, why do you have to wait for the report? That is the question."
Pande however withdrew the bill after assurances by the Minister.
This is an aggregated report from an article published in Times of India on December 5, 2015.